College Students and Helicopter Parents; A Bad Combination
Posted by: Dr. Casper Poodel in Education, tags: EducationCollege administrators, many of whom are parents, know how tough parenting is. They fully realize how much parents worry about their children and how everbody wants the best for them.
But, spend just ten minutes with most college administrators and you’ll learn how frustrating it is for them to deal with the people educators have come to call “helicopter parents”.
Helicopter parents are so named because of their tendency to hover around and over their children, a tendency that educators say slows the development of their children. “How can college students learn to become independent if their parents won’t let go?”, asks one university dean.
Are you guilty of being a helicopter parent? Take this test. One affirmative answer means you probably are; two affirmative answers erases all doubt, and three positive responses means you have some real work to do.
1. Did you do more of the talking than your son or daughter when you visited colleges?
2. Did you respond to questions directed to your student during college visits?
3. Did you participate in filling out your child’s college applications?
4. Did you offer your child assistance in writing his or her college admissions essays?
5. If your son or daughter experiences roommate difficulties, would you consider speaking to the roommate or a college official?
6. If you are convinced that your child is being treated unfairly by an instructor, would you become involved?
7. Did you insist that your child choose a college or university within three hours of your home?
If you were able to answer these questions honestly, think about your “yes” answers and how your involvement in your child’s life affects his or her personal development. Sometimes parents who can’t bear to see their children make relatively small mistakes inadvertently set them up to be unprepared to make later decisions of far greater consequence.
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