Do you have ‘velcro kids’? How millennial parenting styles are changing their children’s behavior
Bringing up those little versions of you and turning them into functioning adults offers a number of options.
You’ve heard about ‘helicopter parenting,’ right? For years it was the shorthand for moms and dads who hovered anxiously over their kids like a TV crew above an L.A. car chase. But in 2025, a new metaphor seems to have taken hold: the ‘Velcro parent.’ Can you guess what type it refers to?
What is a ‘Velcro parent’?
If the helicopter parent circled overhead, the Velcro parent lands, straps in, and refuses to unhook.
“Parents aren’t hovering anymore – they’re physically and emotionally attached,” says therapist Melissa Hunt, in a recent USA Today health feature. “It’s like parenting with Bluetooth.”
And while earlier generations saw distance as discipline, some millennials see proximity as protection. After all, they grew up online – they know what happens when you leave a comment section unattended, as Parents.com noted in its profile of millennial parenting habits.
What is a ‘Velcro kid’?
The natural outcome of this style creates these Velcro kids: sweet, articulate, emotionally literate… and mildly terrified of being alone in a supermarket aisle. They FaceTime from the next room. They ask if “quiet time” has an end-user license agreement.
Psychologist Carina Greer calls it “compassion fatigue in miniature,” echoing findings from Washington Parent on modern over-involvement. “These kids are beautifully bonded,” she says, “but they’ve never had to reboot without parental tech support.”
And who can blame them? Millennials spent the pandemic literally attached to their children. Remote work, home schooling, and “family bubble life” turned kitchens into co-working spaces.
How to un-Velcro your kids?
Experts insist that detachment doesn’t mean indifference. It’s about teaching kids to reboot alone. That means letting them argue with friends, miss a bus, or forget their water bottle.
“Children learn resilience through micro-failures,” says Hunt, who points to Parents.com’s advice on easing separation anxiety in so-called ‘Velcro babies.’ “You can’t troubleshoot their confidence for them.”
Greer’s prescription: “Start small. Walk out of the room. Let them butter their own toast. The world won’t collapse – just your patience.”
And the great things about this behavior is that the Millennial parents are in on the joke. From TikTok to Instagram, there is a real sense of self-awareness with humor on this, and they’re squeezing so hard to show their love. They just need to remember to also let the circulation flow.
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