"Snowplough Parents": Success Above All for Children

There’s a new breed of parent, according to the head teacher at a leading UK all girls school. So-called “Snowplough Parents” are so over-protective of their offspring that the children end up unable to deal with failure.

Clarissa Farr, who heads St. Paul’s School in London was speaking last week at the Girls’ Schools Association. She said: “Snowplough parents is a great description: Clearing everything away in front of the child so that nothing can go wrong, self-esteem valued above all other attributes, anything that might threaten self-esteem must be moved to the side.”

She said she has come across many parents who have such high aspirations that they are frightened of an occasion when their child may come second. Speaking to The Times newspaper she said: “Their children will succeed above all and they’re not at all on board with the idea of school as a community, learning to come second or that learning to give ground is an important part of education.”

Another strongly emerging trend, according to Farr, is the requirement by parents for a “specific and bespoke” service from their school. She said: “Something that shocked me quite a lot and I’ve seen it more in the last few years, is the naked impatience with the idea of putting other people first that you see coming from parents.”