'Helicopter parents' crash-land on careers

Good grief. My parents helped me move, let me stay with them over the summer to save money so I could pay for my wedding, and told me to have a nice life. They did not influence my choice of major (well, not directly, I did follow in my father's footsteps), schools, courses, graduate applications, job applications, or job interviews. What are these parents thinking?

And that's why I spent my kid's college fund on a motorcycle!

Really, the best way to ensure a kid never makes it through college is for the parents to pay for it.

I don't know anyone whose parents paid for college who graduated!

My uncle paid for my college--Uncle Sam!

I had to laugh at this. My son just got his first job. He's 15. I took him to the restaurant for his interview, parked and did one last "go over" at his application. Before he got out of the car, I told him good luck and reassured him that he would do fine. He took a deep breath and opened the door to meet the manager. Believe me, I wanted to go in and tell the guy how great my kid is. I wanted to be there for Jake if he was rejected. After all, that's what moms do. After about 30 mins, my son came out beaming. He told me all about the interview and how well he thought he did answering the manager's questions and such and he told me that he started tonight.

When I took him to work this evening, I met his manager and the man absolutely lavished praise on my son's maturity and raved about how well he handled himself during the interview. He spoke of Jake's intelligence & confidence in himself and his ambitions to be be a cardiac surgeon. He swore to me, "that boy is going to make something great out of himself". I just said "thank you".

As I drove away, I bawled 'cause another one of my kids (he's my second son) has "grown up". I knew though, this was something he had to do on his own. Mommy can't do everything and there comes a time when the kids have to learn to stand on THEIR own two feet. My son's goal is to work and save his money for his insurance on his first car. His reasoning is it's his privelege to drive and he want to earn his own money and not have to rely on daddy and me for insurance money. I think he will do well too.

Mommy's little girl was shocked to find out that, as a summer intern, she wasn't entitled to a paid vacation day to nurse her hangover.

Well, I'd have no problem with her taking a day off because she's too hungover to work. In fact, having come in after a few late nights myself (in my wilder years...) I'd rather not see her at work.

But, as an intern, you miss work, you don't get paid. Actions have consequences. lol!

I think this was a good time for your intern to learn this particular lesson. Better now, than after college at a fulltime job where it really counts and your rent/food/etc is hanging on it.

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