US parents struggle to let kids go

gzlaser

US COLLEGE administrators complain about the rise of \"helicopter parents\", moms and dads who hover over the lives of their children at college.

This year's National Survey of Student Engagement talked to about 9,000 students on 24 campuses. Nearly 40 percent of freshmen have had a parent intervene on their behalf to solve a problem at college. About 13 percent of first-year students said such interventions were frequent.

Educators insist there's nothing wrong with parents taking an interest in college life. At Ohio State University this year, a record 85 percent of the 6,100 freshmen brought a parent to orientation.

But the \"helicopter parents\" who get too involved in solving their children's problems, will prevent their children from learning self-reliance.

The NSSE survey also found that well-educated parents are more likely to be helicopter parents. .

However, there's also an upside to meddling parents, according to the survey. Their children are more engaged in college life, happier and report they gain more from the experience.

\"These students might be taking advantage of a lot of opportunities in college, when they might not have done that if their parents weren't prodding,\" explained George Kuh, who directs the survey.