This is why even though we have disagreed many times I often can appreciate what you say because you can speak in a very measured manner.
Unions are a necessary evil still in the world today and as you said- there is a lot of good that has come from them in an overall sense.
As to the parent situation- the term used often is "snowplow parenting." It's the idea that (and I'm quoting here): seeks to remove all obstacles from a child’s path so they don’t experience pain, failure, or discomfort. Schools then acquiesce to it because 1.) you end up getting into legal battles if you don't and 2.) people don't support schools if they would try to go otherwise, so why bother? So we are developing kids that accomplish things but have no resilience or perseverance as traits