I hear you Grinity. I couldn't find the paper cited but this article expands on it more than the book.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=beyond-iq-kids-who-can-focus-on-task-do-better-math"Preschool curricula that focus on development of these skills and self-regulation are needed in a big way," Blair says. "There is a federal push to learn our numbers, our letters and our words, but a focus on the content, without a focus on the skills required to use that content, will end up with children being left behind."
I see helicopter parenting as doing things for children that they should be doing for themselves, not letting them learn from their mistakes, and giving them the impression they don't need to work because they are smart. This type of parenting handicaps the child into being trapped in the fixed mindset and the accompanying negatives Dweck describes in
Mindset: sticking with easier puzzles instead of trying a harder one, not taking a class that can help you in the long run but may lower your GPA in the short run, looking for a mate who puts you on a pedestal instead of one who challenges you to be a better person.
Unfortunately the helicopter parent label is thrown around to undermine almost any involved parent.
