Colleges try to deal with hovering parents

Heightened parental involvement is one of the biggest changes on college campuses in the last decade, experts say. One major reason is the tight bond between Baby Boomer parents and their children, reports the Globegazette.com, fueled by cell phones.

"... One factor is definitely the cell phone. The era of the 10-minute weekly check-in from the pay phone in the hall has given way to nearly constant contact. Rob Sobelman, a Colgate sophomore, says when students walk out of a test, many dial home immediately to report how it went. One friend checks in with her mother every night before going to sleep, he said.

"Even 10 years ago, parents couldn't even get hold of their children,'' said Colgate President Rebecca Chopp. "If you reached them once a week it was a miracle."' Now she says she's hearing from older alumni who are "worried their grandchildren won't learn accountability and responsibility."

Related articles:

-- New grads face a world of difference - ..."one of every five students on that school's honor roll reports calling his or her parents an average of three times a day. Psychology Today magazine calls cell phones "the eternal umbilicus."

emily | 8:21 AM | SMS and Students |
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