Newsweek: The Fine Art of Letting Go

Parents Forum
1

<p>Great article! It’s from 2006, but very timely! (I love the quiz, too–I’m on the Honor Roll!)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12778684/site/newsweek/[/url]”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12778684/site/newsweek/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

2

<p>Thanks for the link! I am so proud to be on the Honor Roll! I am actually stunned. I think my D has forced me to stop hovering!!!</p>

3

<p>I enjoyed this article the first time around and find it even more interesting now that I will be leaving soon. For the most part, I thought that although the parents featured in the article are more hands-on than my own, their involvement was reasonable. However, I found that Smith women absolutely suffocating and highly annoying–she seemed like every bad upper-class suburban mom stereotype wrapped into one real person, and the picture included of their family was vomit-worthy. </p>

<p>I do have to say, however, that I don’t really understand all the sentimentality. Sure, I get that there may be a few tears when a loved child leaves the nest, but bawling all the way back home? 40 communications/week? Moving near to your kid’s school? Those things are all weird to me…in my opinion, those parents are too connected. I think that it’s funny that one of the reasons cited for suffocating helicoptering is the fear that junior won’t get a job and be successful and will live at home for the rest of his life–and yet the parents won’t cut the strings and start treating the kid like the adult they want him to be!</p>

4

<p>Proud to be on the honor Roll, as well. Just enough contact and support, but mostly allowing independence.</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>Ugh.</p>

<p>It astonishes me that these kids are willing to do their parents bidding…</p>

6

<p>^Because the kid has enough money to shell out for the colleges he expects to go to. Oh, wait. No…</p>

<p>(But Mommy, I wanted to go to YALE!!!)</p>

<p>I don’t blame the parents entirely for their Harvard fixation. I’m sure their kid was just as prestige-grubbing, and it didn’t have anything to do with their influence. After all, I’ve been in a competitive school…trust me, you don’t need hovering parents to develop Ivy League sydrome.</p>