Kids Appreciate Helicopter Parents

News reports and recent research warned parents that becoming overly involved in their children’s lives (helicopter parenting) was creating problems for both the parents and the children. Parents suffered increased anxiety while their children were not maturing as they should, often arrived at college without basic social or survival skills.

To better understand the scope of what many consider the problem of helicopter parenting the College Board and Art and Science Group conducted a survey of college-bound high school seniors. The results surprised the researchers! In the survey conducted by an independent research group, students reported that their parents are much more involved in the matters that affect their future than in day-to-day activities.

By far, the parents showed the greatest interest in their child’s college planning and their children wanted more, not less involvement in their college search process. Also of interest, these parents weren’t writing their children’s essays, rather they were most involved in helping their children plan college costs.

Although there are legitimate concerns about the impact of overly intrusive parental behavior, it’s also important to recognize that students often need and want parental support and input during this significant transition to adulthood.