Going off to college can be a scary experience, especially when you’re used to your parents being around to help with everything. However, it’s also an incredible opportunity for growth that helps you learn to be self-sufficient, independent, and ready to enter the adult world. Sadly, many parents would like their kids to forgo those vital lessons and have decided to hire professional “moms” to do everything for their children away at college.
- What exactly do these hired “moms” do? There’s not much they won’t do, in fact. The hired helpers live close to college campuses and pop in to make doctor appointments and pick up medications, dress kids for job interviews, iron their clothes, do their laundry, and more.
- This kind of thing doesn’t come cheap. This isn’t a free service, of course — parents have to pay big bucks to have someone running around after their adult-aged kids. According to The Wall Street Journal, prices range anywhere from $450 per academic year to several thousand dollars.
- There are established businesses that provide professional “moms.” One of the most popular is a company called mindyKnows, which claims to offer “peace of mind for college families.” They charge the aforementioned $450 per year, plus hefty delivery fees ranging from $35 per request.
- Why is this necessary, exactly? While 18-year-olds should be able to learn how to cook their own meals, ensure they have clean clothes, etc., Shari Brooks, mindyKnows’ marketing director, tells Insider that the service addresses a very real concern of parents. “A lot of parents feel anxious that they don’t have access to their kids when there is need,” she said.
- This seems like yet another way to cripple Gen Z. A 2022 Gallup poll found that Gen Z is not only the most stressed and anxious, but they’re also the most disengaged at work and experience burnout the most. Could this be linked to the fact that they were mollycoddled by parents who refused to let them experience adversity and find their own way through? Are we not willing to give young people vital skills they need to function as upstanding members of society and instead keeping them dependent on parents under the guise of “love”? It’s certainly a question worth asking.
