My kids aren’t at the college search stage yet, but I’m close enough to be frightened by parents who make the process seems all-consuming. For some, it seems to be the high school version of the elementary science fair project. Sure, your 8-year-old kid’s project looks amazing and might rake in thousands of dollars in a Kickstarter launch, but did he really wire/code/build that thing all by himself? For the record, my kids’ projects did not stand out, but they were 100% kid completed!

I recently attended my college reunion and talked with a friend who is remarkably hands-off with her daughter’s current college search. It was such a refreshing conversation that I expanded on it in an interview that I’m sharing with you here. I recognize that college is years away for many of you, so I’ll be back next week with part 2 of this interview that delves further back and looked at how her kids reached this level of independence. I’m not sure that my kids are ready for everything her daughter has taken on, but I am open to the possibility!

Elephant Mamas: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Kim: I am a 47 year old married mother of two teenagers. I teach Spanish at a public high school in [Read more…]