It's the hectoring call that university tutors have learned to dread: "Now, about my son's/daughter's latest assessment - that B grade clearly can't be right."

They've been at their student children's open days, interfered with the Ucas form and swooped in to challenge anything from essay marks to college accommodation.

Meet the helicopter parents, so-called because they hover over their children, interfering and directing their lives in a way that would probably have embarrassed standard pushy parents.

A phenomenon already established in the US, British universities are now beginning to suffer at the hands of the new breed, particularly at careers fairs.

Helicopter parents oversee their child's first graduate job application, prep them for tests and interviews - and have even tried to renegotiate starting salaries.

Paul Redmond, head of careers at Liverpool University, said their arrival was evident at careers fairs across the country last year, and that some students had been barged aside.

"In future we will have to be more open and say it doesn't look particularly impressive to have your parents with you at a fair," said Redmond.

"Several high-profile graduate recruiters have reported incidents where parents have contacted them to negotiate a starting salary. Others have had parents contact them to complain about a 'child' who has been overlooked for promotion," he writes on EducationGuardian.co.uk.

Companies have also complained that recent graduates have had everything done for them by their parents - to the point where they cannot get to a meeting. "One senior investment banker told me how recruits in her firm were unreliable when it came to attending off-site meetings," said Redmond. "Despite picking up salaries well in excess of £30,000, their attendance could never be guaranteed."

These trends are well-established in America, according to Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, which has commissioned research on how recruiters should deal with it. Confessing his own helicopter tendencies, Gilleard said parents have invested so much money, time and effort that they find it difficult to let go.

More students are living at home while they study and in any case the mobile phone puts parents in constant touch. So he isn't surprised the baby boomer generation are now interfering.

In the US companies now regard input from parents as a fact of life, said Gilleard, who attended the annual conference of the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Every session mentioned helicopter parents and firms such as Ernst & Young have policies on how to deal with parents when recruiting. One firm even copies job offer letters to the applicant's parents as a matter of course.

In Britain most employers react badly to the interference of parents, according to Gilleard. But he conceded that attitudes may be shifting, with firms feeling that it makes sense to at least listen to parents.

The energy provider RWE npower said its view of helicopter parents is positive. Redmond reports Bob Athwal, the company's graduate recruitment manager, as saying: "Once an offer of employment is made we are also aware the parents will decide along with the children ... it is essential we strive to be an employer of choice not only for graduates but also their parents."

The feared five

Paul Redmond, head of careers at the University of Liverpool, describes the five types of helicopter parent:

The agent

Operates like a footballer's agent: fixing deals, arranging contracts, smoothing out local difficulties. It's the agent's job to represent his or her client at events which, for whatever reason, the client feels are simply too tedious to attend. Having an agent helicopter parent is like having Max Clifford working for you round the clock.

The banker

Accessible online, face to face or via personal hotline, the banker is unique in the world of financial services for charging no APR, asking few if any questions, expecting no collateral, and being psychologically inclined to say yes no matter how illogical or poorly articulated the request. The banker is also resigned to never seeing loans repaid.

The white knight

This parent appears at short notice to resolve awkward situations. Once resolved, the idea is the white knight will fade anonymously into the background.

The Bodyguard

The primary function of the bodyguard is to protect the client from a range of embarrassing social situations, such as cancelling appointments and soaking up complaints on behalf of their client.

The black hawk

Dreaded by teachers and educational administrators, the black hawk is unique among helicopter parents due to their willingness to go to any lengths - legal or illegal - to give their offspring a positional advantage. Particularly lethal when elected to parent-teacher associations.

The Guardian