<p>TheDad, just as we can all respect and applaud the parenting decisions you’ve made, it seems mean of you not to accord other parents respect for theirs.</p>
<p>I left home at 17 and never looked back, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t see the logic of a parent who decides they want their kids within a half days drive (for whatever reason.) I have a cousin who stayed closer to home for college than he might have wanted, but was instrumental in helping with the medical care of a very ill younger sibling. It was his choice to be close; I don’t think his professional choices or “competent sense of independence” was hampered by his situation; implying that people whose circumstances are very different from yours (you’ve got two healthy, working parents and an only child, correct?) are somehow bad or evil isn’t fair. Life happens and being 3,000 miles away from home for college is hardly the only or correct choice.</p>
<p>I know lots of kids who stay close to home for college. Sometimes it’s a mistake; sometimes it works out great; the distance is only one factor among many. Some of these kids do just fine-- study abroad, fellowships in far away and exotic places, employment thousands of miles away from home right after graduation, etc. These kids are no less mobile than yours, even if the right college choice for them is an hour from mom and dad. There are lots of paths to professional fulfillment and lots of kids who live within a days drive of home who manage to sever the apron strings quite appropriately and completely.</p>