They’re called “helicopter parents,” for their habit of hovering — hyper-involved — over their children’s lives. Here at Colgate University, as elsewhere, they have become increasingly bold in recent years, telephoning administrators to complain about their children’s housing assignments, roommates and grades.
Recently, one parent demanded to know what Colgate planned to do about the sub-par plumbing her daughter encountered on a study-abroad trip to China.
“That’s just part of how this generation has been raised,” said Mark Thompson, head of Colgate’s counseling services. “You add a $40,000 price tag for a school like Colgate, and you have high expectations for what you get.”
For years, officials here responded to such calls by biting their lips and making an effort to keep parents happy.
But at freshman orientation here last week, parents heard a different message: Colgate is making educating students a higher priority than customer service. The liberal arts college of 2,750 students has concluded helicopter parenting has gotten out of hand, undermining the out-of-the-classroom lessons on problem-solving, seeking help and compromise that should be part of a college education.
Those lessons can’t be learned if the response to every difficulty is a call to mom and dad for help.
Although I feel that being involved in your child’s education is a good thing, how much is your child learning by calling you everytime they have a problem? Why is the parent calling the school? Is the parent going to follow them to their first job?
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