Many parents clear all obstacles—especially education obstacles—for their children. “Some people call them ‘snowplow parents’” was printed in the Grand Rapids (MI) Press on August 13, 2005. “As a result, there are ‘helicopter parents’ who hover over their children and ‘snowplow parents’ who clear the way for them, sometimes becoming so attached they follow their children to college and try to meddle in the everyday aspects of their lives” was printed in the Citizens’ Voice (Wilkes-Barre, PA) on March 25, 2006.
 
“In ‘A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting,’ Hara Estroff Marano spares no detail telling us that snowplow parenting is risky business, shortsighted and selfish, even stupid” was a book review printed in the Boston (MA) Globe on March 25, 2008.
 
It’s not known who coined “snowplow parenting” and “snowplow parents.” “Snowplow parenting” became a hot news topic in March 2019, when it was found out that such parents paid millions of dollars to get their children admitted to top colleges and universities.
 
“Snowplough parent/parenting” is the term in British English.
 
             
13 August 2005. Grand Rapids (MI) Press, “Are you hovering over your teen?; University officials report rise of ‘helicopter parents’” by Ed Ronco, pg. A1:
Some people call them “snowplow parents,”...

25 March 2006, Citizens’ Voice (Wilkes-Barre, PA), “Millennial Generation ready to take on world, expert says” by Elizabeth Skrapits, pg. A3, col. 3:
As a result, there are “helicopter parents” who hover over their children and “snowplow parents” who clear the way for them, sometimes becoming so attached they follow their children to college and try to meddle in the everyday aspects of their lives.
 
5 June 2008, Boston (MA) Globe, “A scathing commentary on today’s parenting” by Barbara F. Meltz, pg. E7:
Book Review
A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting
By Hara Estroff Marano
Broadway, 320 pp., $23.95
Helicopter parenting is so passe. Why waste your time hovering, waiting to swoop in on a moment’s notice to rescue your child from a crisis, when you can clear potential obstacles ahead of time and make the path as smooth and safe and stress-free as possible? Kind of like, well, a snowplow.
 
But wait. A snowplow can rip up chunks of grass now and then, or dent a tree so badly it will eventually die.
 
In “A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting,” Hara Estroff Marano spares no detail telling us that snowplow parenting is risky business, shortsighted and selfish, even stupid.
 
Twitter   
jaybudd
@jaybudd
A Nation of Wimps, “Snowplow Parents,”  a parent who clears all challenges from their child’s way, inhibiting them from facing any challenge
9:38 AM - 12 Mar 2009
   
Twitter
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD
@DrSportPsych
Heard a new one today “Snowplow Parents”...a new breed of the “Helicopter” variety
12:37 PM - 1 May 2009
   
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Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD
@DrSportPsych
@CoachLok Snowplow parent=pushy, entitled, pushes everything out of the way. I like it!
11:49 PM - 3 May 2009
 
Twitter
Dasha Kelly
@dashakelly
Campus director described evolution of “helicopter parents” (always hovering) to “snow plow parents” (always clearing a way). Crippling.
1:36 PM - 22 Sep 2009
 
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Dasha Kelly
@dashakelly
@eddiefrancis Snow Plow Parent Island? I think you’re on to something. Intervention should be intense!
5:02 PM - 22 Sep 2009
 
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Natasha Lopoukhine
@savvynat
Content theme this week - Managing Millennials: I wonder how much today’s Snowplow Parenting style is contributing to the issues faced by t…
11:37 PM - 10 Jun 2011
   
Twitter   
G Walz
@gawalz
Shocked at number of callers who are educators and admit to snowplow parenting. Are they enabling more to do the same? #dailycircuit\
10:27 AM - 14 May 2012
 
Fever Broke
Saturday, July 7, 2012
adultolescents + snowplow parenting
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2012/07/02/120702crbo_books_kolbert
(...)
The NY article has a funny thing about ‘helicopter parenting’ where the parent I guess hovers around to ensure the child is coping etc etc, and then coined the term ‘snowplow parenting’ for a newer style where the parent tries to shove any and all obstacles out of their kids way.
   
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Boston Parents Paper
November 14, 2012 ·
Have you heard the term “snow plow parenting”? It’s the latest stereotype referring to parents who remove all obstacles from their children’s paths to ensure they succeed, primarily academically.
 
Daily Mail (UK) 
Why being a ‘snowplough parent’ could HARM your child: Mothers and fathers who clear every obstacle in their offspring’s path risk making them ‘anxious and dependent’
. Snowplough parents who clear all obstacles can damage children
. Expert David McCullough says they can be left anxious and dependent
. Micromanaging children can also leave them unable to cope in real world
By RUTH STYLES FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:54 EDT, 24 August 2014 | UPDATED: 01:21 EDT, 25 August 2014
 
Today’s Parent
Snowplow parenting: What to know about the controversial technique
Get out of the way, Tiger Moms and helicopter and free-range parents! There’s a new parenting label making headlines.
BY EMMA WAVERMAN | MAR 22, 2019
(...)
Snowplow parents may also micro-manage when it comes to diet and education, but they do so with an eye on the future. They want to remove any pain or difficulties from their children’s paths so that their kids can succeed. They are the parents sitting in the principal’s office asking about extra courses or for special allowances for their child. According to educators, there is a sense of entitlement to snowplowers: They blame the school when things go wrong and never accept anything less than first place for their child.
 
Comedy Central
THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH
THE RISE OF SNOWPLOW PARENTING
Highlight 3/28/2019
Trevor, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic highlight a trend of parents going to extremes in order to remove all obstacles from their kids’ daily lives.