Kara Ramos
klpardun@valdosta.edu

A helicopter parent, a trend of parents hovering over their children in college and the workplace, is on the rise. Are they overbearing or simply lending a helping hand? Either way, should parents be involved in their child’s college education or career?

According to Social Technologies website, “parents intervene in roommate disputes, try to register their kids for classes, and contact professors to question grades.”

Children attend college for education, maturation and socialization skills in preparation for the workplace.

But how can they develop into independent adults if their parents hinder their college experience by stepping in and doing everything for them?

Studying, note taking, essay writing, maintaining daily schedules and deadlines, and managing bank accounts are all factors in learning how to live on ones own and becoming an adult. If parents take over these basic responsibilities and do not allow their children to develop strong life skills, what employer would trust their professionalism or want to pay for their inability to adapt to the real world?

“The real issue is that these parents have created a very different generation of children. Some calls these children (now young adults) the millennials. They are a generation born between 1980 and 1995
and as they enter school and the workplace they are bringing with them the world their doting parents
taught them,” Chet Ballard, sociology professor, said.

Social Technologies website writes, “College career offices, corporate recruiters, and human resources departments are all reporting increased involvement and interference from parents. Reportedly, one interviewee at Boeing brought his mom into the interview.”

Parents need to let go of their children so they can learn to function on their own. While it’s okay to be supportive and play a role in their child’s life, they can’t hold onto them and treat them like babies forever or they’ll need parental support in order to take every step for the rest of their lives.

The College Board website includes the National Survey of Student Engagement, which found that, “the children of helicopter parents earned lower grades. But the report doesn’t blame parental intervention. Rather, it theorizes that parents take action because their children struggle in school.”

When a college student receives poor grades, it’s their responsibility to meet with teachers, not the
parents. Once in college, students take on the adult role of working through situations and can’t have
mom or dad calling a teacher to improve their grades. That’s solely the student’s job and a private
matter between his or her teacher.

“I think it’s ridiculous because [students ] have got to become an adult sometime and that’s what college is for,” Katie Ziemann, senior English major, said.

However, it’s not merely parents who can be at fault. Students should have enough willpower to ensure their parents that they can do things on their own. While the idea of having everything done for you might sound appealing at the time, it won’t challenge you or allow you to grow up. Parents have had their children’s early years to teach and guide them. Now it’s time to let their son or daughter use what they have learned as a guide to figure out life for themselves.