As parents, boomers face their final frontier: how to stand aside as their children become independent adults. Where's the line between caring and coddling?
Letting go. Are there two more painful words in the boomer-parent lexicon? One minute, there's an adorable, helpless bundle in your arms. Then, 18 years go by in a flash, filled with Mommy and Me classes, Gymboree, Little League, ballet, drama club, summer camp, traveling soccer teams, piano lessons, science competitions, SAT prep classes and college visits. The next thing you know, it's graduation.
Most boomers don't want to be "helicopter parents," hovering so long that their offspring never get a chance to grow up. But with cell phones and email available 24/7, the temptation to check in is huge. Some boomer parents hang on, propelled by love and insecurity about how the world will treat their children.
Click here for the whole story. Source: Newsweek, May 22, 2006 issue