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‘Helicopter parents’ land on Miami Family Facebook page

By Kierra Sondereker, For The Miami Student

College students aren't the only ones using social media these days. In recent years, Miami University has provided access to a private Facebook page specifically designed for the parents and family members of Miami students.

The page allows these parents to keep up with university life and have an interactive college experience alongside their child's own.

In the past, the Facebook page has proved to be a helpful tool for both students and parents.

Sophomore Rachel Nogalo said the site assisted her and her mother during her transfer to Miami.

"All my mom had to do was just ask a question on the Facebook page and someone would reply immediately," Nogalo said. "I definitely think it has affected my college experience in a positive way."

While this small corner of the social media world seems like one of the hundreds of helpful resources offered to Miami parents, recent posts on the Facebook page have taken a noticeable shift away from general inquiries and information searches.

Posts on the site frequently consist of a parent endeavoring to solve some problem for his or her student. These problems range from subletting apartments to wrangling with professors over grades. One post even inquired about the whereabouts of an electronic store in Oxford their child could go to in order to fix an iPhone.

Mark Pontious, director of parent and family programs at Miami and an administrator for the Facebook page, is aware of these "helicopter" parenting posts, but is powerless to prevent them.

"I appreciate the recognition of our inability to monitor the forum 24/7," stated Pontious. "However, we do not delete comments. It is against university policy to do so."

Because of this, some Miami parents who are on the Facebook page do not approve of it, saying it leads to "negative, uncomfortable posts."

As first stated by Haim Ginott in his 1969 book "Parents & Teens," helicopter parenting refers to a style of parenting in which the parents "hover over [teens] like a helicopter." In short, this type of parenting runs the risk of not allowing achild enough freedom to branch off and become independent.

Miami professor of clinical psychology Aaron Luebbe described the effect that helicopter parenting can have on college students.

"Students who report more helicopter parenting tend to also report more depression and anxiety, less confidence in their academic work and social relationships in college,and a tendency to either avoid major decisions or rely too heavily on others to make big decisions," Luebbe said.

In regard to the helicopter parenting occurring on the Miami parent Facebook page, Luebbe said "parents do need to be mindful of what, when and how much support and assistance they provide as their children transition to independence."

First-year Sumedha Chakravarti said that having overprotective parents is, in part, a result of her Indian cultural upbringing.

"I have to call my parents everyday or else they will not be happy," Chakravarti said.

While acknowledging and understanding this cultural facet, Chakravarti still struggles with the restraints it puts on her quest for independence and autonomy.

"They need to know that I can take care of myself," Chakravarti said.