I thought I had heard and seen almost everything concerning college admissions, yet I was awestruck by CNN’s report this week on highly educated moms taking a leave from their careers to usher their children through the college admissions process. Please say it isn’t so! While I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I probably got more involved than I should have in my sons’ journeys through college admissions, I would have never dreamed of quitting my day job. At the time, I had a thriving legal practice, and I am certain my sons believed that I had plenty of time to nag and nudge them through college planning and admissions.

This story gnaws at me on so many different levels. Well prior to planning for college, there are so many other life events that trigger the need for concerned and involved parenting, events that instill lifelong values and lessons. This is why I imagined that many parents choose to stay home with their children rather than enter or stay in the workforce. Thus, what is the value of quitting a job just to plan and package your child to get into a college?

The value is lost on me and the situation strikes me as overly controlling and stifling. While the entire family is affected by and involved in a son or daughter leaving for college, this is really the student’s journey. This is usually the first time the student has control over what she will study and the environment in which she will live. There are important life lessons in letting students take control and responsibility of this process and the decision making involved.

I imagine that the next emerging story will be moms quitting work to shepherd their children through career fairs and employment searches after college. This is not a stretch because there are already plenty of reports concerning parents nagging colleges about their children’s academic progress in college and showing up at on campus college fairs.

As parents, we really need to reflect upon what we are doing. Do we really want our children to live in a Peter Pan world, a world where they never grow up?