<p>After reading this [Parenting</a> secrets of a college professor - Salon.com](<a href=“http://www.salon.com/2012/02/28/parenting_secrets_of_a_college_professor/singleton/]Parenting”>http://www.salon.com/2012/02/28/parenting_secrets_of_a_college_professor/singleton/) I couldn’t help but feel that I will be ahead of the game in self-diagnosing helicopter parenting having experienced prep school parenting. Or maybe I am delusional :)</p>
<p>The bigger impact is the gift you’re giving your kid, NOW. If you can back off to middle ground (as the author suggests) during the BS years (when kids still have that whole in loco parentis thing going with faculty and coaches who know them well), college will be a piece of cake for your child. I saw it time and again with the BS grads at my school, and have heard it from many others since. The maturation that happens at BS allows kids to arrive at college ready to fully rock the house, and they (generally) have the tools and drive to do just that. It was not until my Ph.D. program that the hours I logged began to approach the BS workload, and even then in my late 20s/early 30s, I didn’t have to deal with the daily exhaustion that is kindof baseline for students at the top schools. BS is a hothouse, and some may wilt, but the survivors…they ride a wave of momentum that is far, far reaching.</p>
<p>That is priceless, PelicanDad. I need to flag that post for future reference :)</p>
<p>My daughter is a day student at a prep/boarding school. We, however, live on campus as a family. D will be my first child at college so I can’t speak from experience as a parent, but she has said on several occasions that many of her friends who are in college talk about how it wasn’t a difficult transition at all. In some cases (kids who took 4+ AP’s), the students actually found college to be a step down in work load and really enjoy (and don’t know what to do with) so much free time that they aren’t used to having, initially.</p>