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The National Survey of Student Engagement has released their 2007 Annual Report, which collects information from colleges and universities nationwide about student participation and academic performance.  Among their findings is an extensive discussion about the role of parental involvement in the lives of college students, which garnered the intriguing headline: “Smart parents are meddling parents.” 

According to the Virginian-Pilot, the survey “reaches the surprising conclusion that students who are regularly in touch with their parents fare better than those who rarely call home.”  Among its findings, the report concludes that seven of ten college students communicate “very often” with at least one parent, and about three quarters of all students frequently followed the advice of a parent, often resulting in more exchanges with professors and more participation in educational activities that improve the quality of education. 

The NSSE findings highlight the importance of the vital child-parent relationship: not only in the lives of their children, but also in their development and educational potential. The battle for the parental rights amendment is the battle to protect this vital relationship. 

Join the battle for parental rights by becoming a Citizen Co-sponsor of the Petition to protect parental rights.

THE POWER OF A PARENT

“They’re my foundation,” 17-year-old Kristiana St. John says of her parents in a recent Associated Press interview, “My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she’s still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed.”

Kristiana was one of 1,280 young people asked to identify what makes them happy in a recent MTV/Associated Press survey. Overwhelmingly, these young people named spending time with family as their top answer. Nearly three quarters - 73 percent - said that their relationship with their parents is what “makes them happy.”

And studies show that the impact of parental involvement in a child’s life goes well beyond making them happy. The relationship that parents share with their children plays a powerful role in the child’s overall health and education. Read the rest of this entry »