More and more universities are admitting students and their pets to campus, in hopes that it will ease the transition of leaving home.

Stephens College, a women’s college in Missouri, for instance, is renovating a dorm to accomodate an influx of students and their animal companions— mainly pooches and felines— even dubbing the dorm Pet Central.

College President Dianne Lynch told the New York Times, she recognizes the trend is a byproduct of “helicopter parenting,” which for those of you unfamiliar with the term, are those parents who constantly hover over their children, ready to argue over—or for— a grade, a placement or position at a moment’s notice.

The negative upshot of such constant oversight, as many have argued, has been a lack of self-direction and indepence among their offspring, which as Lynch astutely points out, can be reflected in more students wishing to bring the family dog with them when they head off to college.

And colleges, suffering financially just like every other educational institution in the country, are eager to lure prospective students by marketing themselves as pet-friendly, caring, inclusive.

Clearly, this is a trend with growth potential. But is it a good thing?

First, a disclaimer: I am not a pet owner. But I’ve watched my fair share of episodes of the Dog Whisperer, and found a great majority of doggie discipline and trauma issues are related to the owner treating the hound as if it were a human.

My point, yes I have one, is while I can understand the bond between an animal and a human, I can’t understand why using this relationship to soften the entry into a new environment is considered helpful. After all, when would it stop? Would you need your cat to start a new job? Your dog to go on a date? Your hamster to meet new friends?

Don’t get me wrong, pets have their place– and an important one— in someone’s life. Just not at college.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor

Though, it’s not funny, I laughed for several reasons.

After spending a holiday weekend with family, I can tell you baby boomers are among the worst offenders of overly anxious and protective parenting.  Granted, this statement has no scientific data to support it, and I’m sure there are many middle-aged parents who are neither consumed nor interested in the daily activities or their adult son or daughter.

But I run across enough newspaper articles and hear more than a few stories to, at least, hint that the overly attached parent is a real and growing phenomenon. It’s one of the reasons, I wrote “Parent Trap” for ASBJ last February.

While educators understand the importance of parental involvement in schools, different parents require different approaches. The challenge with “helicopter parents,” isnt’ so much getting them involved but showing them, diplomatically, where their involvement is best needed— and not.

As I mentioned, I laughed at the Commercial Appeal article for several reasons. I learned recently that the son of one of the parent’s I profiled for my ASBJ story on parental involvement had been selected for a prestigious internship with the U.S. Embassy in Senegal.  

I also learned his mother launched an exporting business in the West African country,  appointing her son as communications director.

Hmmm.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor