In recent years, a parenting trend known as “Snowplow” parenting has gained attention for its implications on children’s development and success. This method motivates parents who jump in front of land mines from their youngsters. Not surprisingly, given all this, entrepreneurs often find themselves stepping in to rescue the day. As an educator and writer, Theo Wolf has experienced the other side of this coin. At Spike Lab, he has trained hundreds of students hoping to one day study at Ivy League institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton.
Like “snowplow” parents Snowplow parents go to great lengths to protect their children from academic hardship, often doing the work themselves. Far too many parents instead spend every night emailing teachers about their children’s insufferably low grades or feuds with peers. Even more importantly, parents just want to do their best to advocate for their kids and not leave them to face these obstacles alone. Yet this kind of snowplow parenting looks more like a snowplow. Retrospective effect It opens up opportunities for children, protecting them from a host of adverse experiences.
Theo Wolf’s six years of field experience with students is an example of the potential pitfalls of this approach. He has engaged hundreds of local students through his work. In the process, he realized that most of the parents wanted to get their kids admitted to selective schools, but they were not preparing them to be resilient, independent problem solvers. Wolf was a coach to one such ambitious student who made impressive moves. This student’s fearless cold-emailing of 70+ professors led him to lab internships. This proactive approach is just one example of the potent self-advocacy ATDP cultivates that lays the foundation for future success. It’s the opposite of the overprotective, hyper-involved “Snowplow” parent behaviors.
Wolf, a graduate of Cornell University, discusses the need to let kids face rejection and failure. He suggests that parents push their kids to experiment with “rejection therapy.” This innovative practice is available to increase resilience among young people. Yet he builds from his own experiences, and like many, he vividly recants receiving dozens of rejections. He reinterprets these obstacles as important lessons rather than situations of defeat.
This view is strongly supported by experts in education. As Harvard professor Amy Cuddy reminds us, failure and rejection can be some of our best teachers. By protecting children from these crucial experiences, “Snowplow” parents can actually limit their growth and equip them to face greater challenges in the future.
As a coach, Theo Wolf was equally as active. He is a mentor to students at Harvard University’s Lemann Program on Creativity and Entrepreneurship. His commitment to fostering independence and creativity among students is evident in a desire to grow beyond one-on-one coaching. He was one of the main creators of Snowday. This free online search tool enables any high school student to find summer and year-round study programs that suit their aspirations.
When it comes to kids, the implications of “Snowplow” parenting pose an important larger question about the balance between support and independence. More than just acknowledging that parents want the best for their kids, Wolf calls for a change in perspective. He does not clear every obstacle. Rather than teach kids to avoid all risk, he urges parents to allow their children to confront risks themselves, developing critical problem-solving abilities that will serve them a lifetime.