Helicopter parenting is not kid focused, it's parent focused. Do you hover out of fear or parental narcissism?
We live in a highly informed, highly comparative age. The way you parent may be subject to a whole host of judgements, theories, and unnecessary comparisons in the space of an hour spent surfing the net. If you're susceptible, you may find yourself drawn into anxiety-based parenting, hovering over your kids' every move, droning on to the other adults in his or her life about how he or should be protected.
Or perhaps, you're not afraid for your kids at all. Maybe you just feel the need to ensure they represent you well. You need to excel at this parenting thing, so your reluctance to see them fail is really a strong desire protect your own self-image. It's a bit narcissistic and might be a tough truth to tell yourself, but worth a hard look. Are you shielding your kids from failure because you really want to be a good parent or because you really just want to look like one?