People have been left stunned after a mum confessed that she wants to have eyes on her son at all times since he has moved to university – but people dub it as ‘helicopter parenting’ and ‘psychotic’
People have been left gobsmacked as a “helicopter” mum shared that she wants to install cameras in her son’s dorm room.
It can be hard for parents when their children prepare to fly the nest for the first time and head off to university. Not only are they leaving home, but they are starting a new journey, living in a new place where often they don’t know anyone. Plus, it may be the first time that they have had to organise their money, food shop, cooking, laundry and more all on their own.
One mum, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared her concerns for her son staying on top of his chores while at Purdue University in Indiana, US. “It’s hard to trust they’ll remember everything on their own,” the worried parent shared on Facebook.
The dilemma was shared on popular podcast I’ve Had It, with Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan, which boasts 1.2million followers on TikTok. The pair, who love ranting and sharing their brutal opinions, discussed the mum’s concerns recently.
Jennifer said: “Something that’s really peaked our interested lately is college parents helicoptering over their college kids’ lives.” The pair said that “helicopter parenting is an epidemic”.
She read out the mum’s post on the Purdue University group, which said: “Is it too much to ask the college to install cameras in my child’s dorm room? I just want to make sure they’re sleeping enough and staying on top of their cleaning and laundry.” She added: “And before anyone worries about roommate privacy, he is in a single room!”
The podcast hosts were left in stitches and Angie said: “That’s psychotic.” Others were also stunned by what the mum said, as one wrote: “This cannot be real.”
Another said: “As a Brit, I just wanna check if everyone is ok over there because…” One other questioned the mother’s comment about privacy, and wrote: “Roommate privacy? What about HIS privacy omg.”
Another pointed out: “They won’t remember everything, they will stay up too late and not eat enough at first but that’s how they learn to be independent adults!” “I promise that mother does not want to see what goes on in that room!,” said another.
But other parents and university staff members did not seem shocked by the behaviour after experiencing similar.
One parent said: “My son was in an honours college – the parents were asking if they could stay over with their child AND wanted to know if they could walk their child to class and attend it with them. I mean, WHAT?”
A university staff member agreed and said: “I work at a university. Let me tell you this is all very true. I’ve heard of parents wanting to spend the night in their child’s dorm move in day.”
A former school worker said: “I worked in the admissions office of a large state school. Had a mom call in and ask who would do her son’s laundry. Told her their were washer and dryers in the dorm. She wanted to hire a service.”
A former admissions worker shared: “I worked in admissions for a graduate program at an Ivy League school. Helicopter parents were a huge issue.”
What is your take on the mum’s dilemma? Comment below.