Do parents of college kids ask the wrong question?
By Gregg Chenoweth, communications professor at Olivet Nazarene University, for the Kankakee, Illinois The Daily Journal Bourbonnais, Illinois-During the last two weeks, droves of parents nudged about 800,000 kids out of the nest and back to an Illinois college. But it appears Mom and Dad ask the wrong question once Junior calls home. According to a University of Minnesota Parent Survey, parents communicate on average 10.4 times per week with their college kids by phone, E-mail, or text message. Around 30 percent of those conversations regard finances, 20 percent review career plans, and only 13 percent address academics. Money. Career. Academics. I think there’s an elephant in the room no one can see. Sure, given the unprecedented pre-collegiate fervor characteristic of modern parents, you would talk 10 times per week, too. About 85 percent helped their children decide which school to attend, 69 percent filled out applications with their kids and 49 percent arranged for their child’s
