"Helicopter Parents'' in Colleges of China

A "helicopter parent" is a person who is so preoccupied with his child's success that she overly involves herself in or even blatantly interferes with college affairs of education and management as they relate to her child. In this article, the author describes the behaviors of helicopter parents and analyzes their origins. The article also describes people's attitudes toward "helicopter parents" as well as countermeasures adopted by colleges of China in responding to them. At the beginning of the present century, a new group -college students' parents - appeared at colleges and universities all over the world. These parents were wholly preoccupied with their children's lives, devoting almost the entirety of their time and energy to monitoring their children's college education and life. If their children were confronted by the slightest inconvenience, these parents would "swoop" in immediately - like a helicopter - to provide assistance. Not infrequendy, these parents would intervene direcdy to remove the inconvenience; many were bold enough to demand that exception be made to established institutional policies and procedures. Initial references to "helicopter parents" were humorous. China currendy enrolls the most college students of any country in the world. What are the status of and reasons for "helicopter parents" in China? What do people say about them? And how do colleges deal with them? PRIMARY BEHAVIORS In China, parents shepherd their children from the time they enter college until the time they leave college. This shepherding includes arranging for their children to prepare for the college entrance examination; choosing their majors; arranging for their transportation to school; and even helping them secure jobs. During the enrollment stage, many parents gather information for their children about colleges and college majors. Regardless of their children's intentions, these parents decide which college their children will attend and which major they will declare. Once these decisions have been made, so-called "helicopter parents" transport their children to school. In China, freshmen enter college in September. Millions of parents carry their children's heavy luggage and then stay to help them negotiate the range of college entrance procedures. Throughout their children's college careers, "helicopter parents" remain preoccupied with their children's life and studies. Some helicopter parents call their children at least once a day to inquire about their activities and even to remind them to get up for class. If their children attend college not too far from home, helicopter parents will help their children clean their dorm room and will take them shopping. It is reported that some Chinese college students' parents resigned their professional positions and rented rooms near their children's colleges in order to look after and supervise their children's school work (Xu 2004). When it comes time to seek employment, many students send their resumes to human resource managers and/or present them at job fairs. But others just give their curriculum vitae to their parents. According to a 2006 survey conducted by the School Department of CYL Central Committee and Public Policy Research Institute of Peking University, more than 41 percent of 6,000 graduates from 100 universities in China got jobs through their family and social networks (School Department of CCYL and ppri of Peking University 2006). "It seems to be a common phenomenon nowadays," says Chen Lin, a senior majoring in computer science at Sichuan University. Of the six girls in her dormitory, three have signed job contracts that were offered as a result of their parents' networks (Zhang 2008). ORIGINS OF HELICOPTER PARENTING "Helicopter parents" in China are a complicated social phenomenon, a result in part of the traditional culture of "hoping one's children will have a bright future;" of change in the social environment during the transitional period; of tough competition for employment stemming from college expansion since 1999; and of the country's one-child policy. …