In a Christmastime feature titled “The Relentlessness of Modern Parenting,” the New York Times describes the stress and anxiety helicopter parents place on themselves.

The author doesn’t use the term “helicopter parenting” or “over-parenting,” but instead calls it “intensive parenting.” This style of being a mother or father is mostly “child-centered, expert-guided, emotionally absorbing, labor intensive and financially expensive.” The piece makes it clear that this is mostly an issue with “white, upper-middle-class American culture,” though “researchers say the expectations have permeated all corners of society, whether or not parents can achieve them.”