Helicopter Parents

On the Carleton alumni e-mail list is an interesting discussion about "Helicopter Parents" so named because they hover. It started with an article in the Carleton alumni magazine, which suggests Carleton has mostly escaped the phenomenon (I didn't see much of it).

But some schools have formed parent relations offices to stop parents from calling professors, checking in on dorm life and complaining about cafeteria food.

I actually experienced a helicopter parent last year, when we let go of our 25 year-old volunteer coordinator and I had to deal with his mom afterwards. Unexpected, to say the least.