When I read the following excerpt, I immediately remembered this brilliant saying, “The best thing parents can do for their children is get a life.” Here is the excerpt in question:
UNCW recently hired an English professor whose previous publications are worrying some parents. Students say although some of the poems are shocking, they do not have a problem with the professor’s risque work, and the university agrees.
Of course, those same parents will then write endless articles and blog posts asking why the younger generation is so helpless and immature. It will never occur them that they infantilize their own adult children by policing not only their reading matter but also every utterance of people their overgrown darlings might come in contact with.
People, if you have started obsessing over publication records of profs on your adult child’s campus, this is an indication that you are in urgent need of a life.
Clarissa's Blog 
We have rarely that kind of shit in Québec.
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Unfortunately you’re wrong.. I work in recruitment (in Montreal) and have received calls from parents on numerous occasions. The most memorable one came from a mother who called to chastise me that a client did not retain her son’s candidacy for an interview. I was mortified and embarrassed .. for her adult son.
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I remember that story. It was the best. 🙂 🙂
Poor guy, though.
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“Of course, those same parents will then write endless articles and blog posts asking why the younger generation is so helpless and immature. It will never occur them that they infantilize their own adult children by policing not only their reading matter but also every utterance of people their overgrown darlings might come in contact with.” This is SO TRUE. I cannot believe how many parents say things to me along the lines of “oh, I wish Kelly could stay this age forever!” “It’s so sad to see Johnny growing up!” “She’s never going to be allowed to date! She’ll always be my baby-girl!” Ugh. Don’t parents realize that the whole point of parenting is to create functioning adults!?!?! I want to say, “Really? You really want your child to ‘never grow up’ and be dependent and infantile forever?” I find this sad, and also unhealthy for both the parents and the child.
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“I cannot believe how many parents say things to me along the lines of “oh, I wish Kelly could stay this age forever!” “It’s so sad to see Johnny growing up!””
– I know! I hear this, too, and I also know very well how difficult it is for children of such parents to grow up and see themselves as adults and not as scared little kids.
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Good Lord, parents are complaining about what their ADULT children are reading in UNIVERSITY? Jesus H. Christ.
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The children are not even reading this. This is something their prof published in the past and nobody has to read.
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Oh for fuck’s sake.
p.s. sorry my reading skills fail, hah
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More to the point: why should parents have any say whatsoever in this subject? These students aren’t even minors anymore, for the most part.
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That’s what I’m saying. If the little honey can’t survive the reading matter s/he might potentially come across, how can we expect her or him to deal with harder things like job search, paying bills, managing his or her personal life? Hell, even brushing teeth might be too hard a chore for such a helpless little thing.
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I think a big part of the problem is that parents think that if they pay for their children’s higher education that they somehow own the child. It’s reprehensible but it’s how many parents think.
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http://www.montrealgazette.com/touch/story.html?id=7832822
This article talks about parents that continue helicoptering in their adult children’s professional lives… Told you it happened too frequently!..
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The phenomenon exists but what a silly article! It blames this problem on parents having careers. Because it makes so much more sense to believe that high-powered career people will have the time to trudge from job interview to job interview instead of bored and useless housewives.
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