...on public radio. One topic was a sort of call in show/discussion about how kids don't seem to have developed the social skills they need when they jump out of the nest to be able to function in the world. The conversation started with the radio personality relating a story that showed up in the Washington Post, written by the president of a college or university. (Sorry I cannot be more specific... I'm doing good to remember it long enough to write about it!)
The man wrote to comment on how young adults struggle to manage relationships. Though they are old enough to enroll in a university, so of the age that parents have theoretically turned them loose to function independently. But a parent had called the Office of The President of the school to tell about a kid who was having a problem with a roommate. I don't know the details of the kerfluffle, but it was apparently unresolvable between the two or more young people who were assigned the same living space.
I am sure there are resources for mediation, student counseling programs, RA's still living in dorms, people who can listen objectively and offer suggestions for resolution. I don't know if these two individuals did not attempt to find a dis-interested third party, or the options they were offered were not satisfactory. But I cannot imagine calling the President of the University to intervene. Does that seem a bit excessive for problem solving?
The conversation turned to 'helicopter parents', who tend to make decisions and tell young adults what to do. Who don't allow opinions, input, or feedback. Wanting to micromanage every aspect of the adult child's life, then wondering why they make such poor decisions and keep setting themselves up for disaster.
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