Washington Post: A Professor's Note for New College Parents
July 18, 2016
Parents' influence in their children's lives does not diminish at college drop off–in fact, it may increase, writes Political Science Prof. Chris Alexander in a piece for The Washington Post.
"Many new college parents struggle with this dilemma: What am I supposed to be to my child now, and how am I supposed to be it?" he writes.
The distance college puts between parents and their children actually serves parents well in their new roles, Alexander says, because parents can maintain a perspective that so often gets lost in the fray of deadlines, grades, and social situations.
"And bestowing your perspective from a distance might be the best strategy," he writes. "Because perspective requires distance. You can't help your young person see the big picture if you become a character in it."
Chris Alexander is a professor of political science, associate dean for international programs and McGee Director of the Dean Rusk International Studies Program.
