Exactly this. If you don't allow them to start doing things independently well before college, that first semester tends to be a disaster for everyone involved. The reason I see many kids fail out of their first semester is NOT academic, usually it is maturity becuase they have never had to handle anything by themselves and they are competely lost. Many of them cannot do laundry, get themselves up and ready for school, navigate the campus, manage money, or be smart about thier personal safety because mommy has always done it for them.
We are donig this generatrion a huge disservice by making 10 year olds go potty with mommy, not allowing them to cross the street, walk to a friend's, handle thier own problems at school,or be alone for more than 3 seconds becuase WE are too afraid to let go of the control we have over our kids, and if we are really honest that is what it is about, loss of control. We as a society need to stop micromaaging our kids lives and let them learn to be independent. We are already beginning to see the poor results of helicopter parenting. More kids move home with mom and dad after college now than ever before because they simply cannot function on thier own. Could something bad happen? Yes, but the odds are better that you will get hit for a bus tomorrow. Yet we still walk out into the street and cross. Why can we not apply the same logic to the skills our kids need to succeed?
