Study Says Students Like Their Helicopter Parents

Teachers and administrators at schools and colleges across the country use the term “helicopter parents” every day to refer to those moms and dads who “hover” over their children, especially during the college application process, prodding them, reminding them of deadlines, reviewing their essays, and taking a front-seat role. And, of course, the term is not meant to be complimentary.

But what do the students, themselves, think of this kind of hovering. Before now, it has been assumed that they, too, were annoyed.

Wrong.

A new study at UCLA, which surveyed a whopping 270,000 college freshmen, concludes that an overwhelming number of them think their parents’ hovering is just fine, thank you. Seventy-four percent of them said that the involvement in their affairs was “just right.” Eleven percent said the involvement was “too much” and fifteen percent said “too little.”