Perhaps helicopter (extreme risk-averse) parenting is a rational reaction to the recent trend of having many fewer children much later in life. For most of hum

Perhaps helicopter (extreme risk-averse) parenting is a rational reaction to the recent trend of having many fewer children much later in life. For most of human evolutionary history, women had their first child in their teens. That means even if your child died, you would have many more chances to reproduce. The average age of first child is now closer to 25. If a 10-year-old kid dies from an accident, the mother may have a lot of difficulty conceiving and bringing another child to term. This might also explain why the author thinks moms are more likely to helicopter parent -- men's reproductive ability declines with age much more slowly than women.