Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
With GPS tracking, “concierge moms,” and high-priced dormitory-design consultants, it’s easier than ever for college students’ parents to go overboard. But is extreme helicopter parenting as pervasive as it seems? And how much are changing cultural norms affecting the relationships parents have with their young-adult children? We asked Lisa Heffernan, co-founder of Grown and Flown, a wildly popular online resource for parents, to break down what’s really happening between parents and young college students.
Related Reading:
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Parents, Young Adult Children and the Transition to Adulthood (pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/01/25/parents-young-adult-children-and-the-transition-to-adulthood/?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l1) (Pew Research Center)
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Tuition: $9,400. Dorm Room Interior Designer: $10,000? (nytimes.com/2024/08/30/realestate/college-dorm-room-interior-designer.html?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l2) (The New York Times)
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Varsity Blues (chronicle.com/package/admission-through-the-side-door/?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l3) (Chronicle coverage)
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Surveillance Parents Face the Ultimate Firewall: Freshman Year (wsj.com/lifestyle/helicopter-parents-college-freshman-ac32970f?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l4) (wsj.com/lifestyle/helicopter-parents-college-freshman-ac32970f) (The Wall Street Journal)
Guest: Lisa Heffernan (grownandflown.com/author/lisa/?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l5) , (grownandflown.com/author/lisa/) co-founder of Grown and Flown
For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters (chronicle.com/podcast/college-matters-from-the-chronicle?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l6) . We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
With GPS tracking, “concierge moms,” and high-priced dormitory-design consultants, it’s easier than ever for college students’ parents to go overboard. But is extreme helicopter parenting as pervasive as it seems? And how much are changing cultural norms affecting the relationships parents have with their young-adult children? We asked Lisa Heffernan, co-founder of Grown and Flown, a wildly popular online resource for parents, to break down what’s really happening between parents and young college students.
Related Reading:
•
Parents, Young Adult Children and the Transition to Adulthood (pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/01/25/parents-young-adult-children-and-the-transition-to-adulthood/?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l1) (Pew Research Center)
•
Tuition: $9,400. Dorm Room Interior Designer: $10,000? (nytimes.com/2024/08/30/realestate/college-dorm-room-interior-designer.html?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l2) (The New York Times)
•
Varsity Blues (chronicle.com/package/admission-through-the-side-door/?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l3) (Chronicle coverage)
•
Surveillance Parents Face the Ultimate Firewall: Freshman Year (wsj.com/lifestyle/helicopter-parents-college-freshman-ac32970f?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l4) (wsj.com/lifestyle/helicopter-parents-college-freshman-ac32970f) (The Wall Street Journal)
Guest: Lisa Heffernan (grownandflown.com/author/lisa/?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l5) , (grownandflown.com/author/lisa/) co-founder of Grown and Flown
For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters (chronicle.com/podcast/college-matters-from-the-chronicle?utm_campaign=che-pcm-pd-ep-sn-helicopter-parents&utm_medium=aud&utm_source=mgp&utm_content=25-02-11-slnk-e019-l6) . We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
