Parenting to a Degree

When their children head off to college, parents jobs should be done, right? Wrong, shows sociologist Laura Hamilton, in this fascinating study of students and parents at Midwest University. At graduation time, some of the students were heading off to graduate school, some were planning a fifth year to finish up, and some had dropped out. Laura Hamilton shows just how much parenting approaches helped or hurt these students college careers. Hamilton found three distinct parenting approaches at MU. There are first, the familiar helicopter parents, but Hamilton highlights pink helicopter parents, who lean heavily into femininity, helping their daughters finance their wardrobes, hair and nails, and sorority parties as they aim for their MRS degree. Paramedic parents see college as a time to build independence, a trial run at adulthood with a safety net in place. And bystander parents employ a hands-off approach, one that is most typical of working-class parents who don t intervene due to the pressing needs of their own lives. Contrary to expectations, this is not an account of how morewhether it be money, contact, or cultivationis always better. In fact, some kinds of parent involvement contribute to student underperformance. But good help from parents offers college students a distinct educational advantage and makes it clear: It is nearly impossible to remain at a flagship university, much less graduate from any higher education institution in four years, without any parental support. Anyone with a student heading off to or already in college would be smart to read this book."