<p>I was surprised at the mom who posted (a while ago) that she unpacked, refolded and put away her son’s underwear- in front of his roommate.</p>
<p>When dropping your son or daughter off freshman year, it is a good idea for parents to plan something fun to do on the way home. It helps spur the parents to not over-stay their welcome, and helps to take the edge off of the day.</p>
<p>I helped my daughter move in, but then she had to go to a meeting. I stayed in the room, getting rid of boxes, setting up her bike etc., but when our daughter came back with a bunch of newly-made friends, they opened the door to the room only to find me taking a nap in her bed. Its been 3 years now, and forgiveness is not yet in sight.</p>
<p>Last year, when D was a freshman, I did the major cleaning - well, we did it together, with me in charge. This year, I thought I was off the hook, but D insisted that she needs me, so again, we worked together and really scrubbed and disinfected. So, I guess I’m one of those moms. Frankly, the other girls in her suite never really cleaned their rooms when they moved in and…very gross. Oh, and D moved in with her own XL pillow top mattress with its allergen cover - so no mites or bedbugs can penetrate! However, I have absolutely no desire to sleep in the room, that’s for sure!</p>
<p>There was a long thread a while back about a parent who knowingly parked illegally where he wasn’t supposed to, right in view of campus police- and then complained when he got a ticket for it.</p>
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mea culpa :)</p>
<p>I know of situations where a parent stayed in the dorm room when visiting, I believe it was a student on significant financial aid and the reason really was financial. I think the roommates were asked to okay it and they did. I am pretty sure the parent did not spend the day in the dorm room (or perhaps it was an off campus apartment, I am not sure) so I guess there could be a situation where that works.</p>
<p>My girlfriend brought her housekeeper to clean the room and set up everything.</p>
<p>…housekeeper made a weekly half day cleaning appearance.</p>
<p>In a parents-only meeting (so the student was unaware), a we discussed health care and the clinic. One parent insisted that the school put down our discussion and distribute it on paper to all the students so they’d know. The presenter said that the students were given the information, but the parent wanted them to have a transcript of <em>this</em> discussion. The presenter said that students don’t read paper, they only read email, and the parent insisted the opposite was true. Finally the presenters said they’d consider it.</p>
<p>I knew a guy in college who brought one of the workers off the farm to college with him. The worker lived in the closet.
Yes, this was in the deep South.</p>
<p>^oh my…</p>
<p>That reminds me: Bryn Mawr has a number of dorm rooms with an adjacent “servant room” (barely large enough for a bed and a small drawer). I wonder at what point in the college’s history these were re-purposed as student doubles.</p>
<p>Wow. Bryn Mawr had the loveliest dorms of all places we visited, though D lucked out and got one of the showpiece dorms at W. Which dorm is this and when was it built? Just imagine the life of these servants to college girls.</p>
<p>It’s been a few years as DS is a junior, but at Freshman move in, while leaving, I ‘almost’ but not quite, walked into another student’s room, rather than going out the exit door. There were three doors in a row, and I made a simple mistake. </p>
<p>In my defense, I had made multiple trips up to the very tiny single room, had thoroughly cleaned the room (it was the year of H1N1 and better safe than sorry). DH has some health issues, so I had been chosen to make the walked back and forth the the ‘outback’ where parents had to park their cars after the initial unload to retrieve or return items from/to the car. </p>
<p>I was exhausted, emotionally drained at leaving, and I went to the wrong door. I just touched/turned the handle before son shouted ‘NOooooo’ – I did hear the kid in the room jump, too…but I stopped before even cracking the door more than 1". Still, it has not been forgotten and I am “watched closely” each time I go in the dorms now 
Privacy is such a big deal…</p>
<p>The servant rooms are in Rockefeller, which was constructed from 1900 to 1904 according to the college website.</p>
<p>Thanks, b@rium.</p>
<p>Last year during freshman orientation at my son’s school we went to a parent info session with one of the deans. They were explaining something about the meal plan when one mom asked why they don’t serve chocolate milk in the cafeteria. He answered something, but then she went on for a couple more minutes explaining that kids really need to drink milk and having chocolate milk available helps encourage them to drink it. How can she make sure her son is getting enough milk if they don’t have chocolate milk? Milk has vitamins, calcium, etc. Are there any plans to start having chocolate milk? Have they look into the cost of offering chocolate milk? It went on and on and she just wouldn’t let it go!</p>
<p>Great thread, Pizzagirl. I should print and share with DD – will make me look pretty good! </p>
<p>DH has the potential to have made this list but when DD moved in freshman year, I sent him and DS off to keep themselves busy away from the dorm after we got DD’s stuff in.</p>
<p>(PG, BTW - We missed you yesterday! Look for FB pics after I get home this afternoon.)</p>
<p>Last year during S1’s move-in day we had to go out and purchase a TV stand and an office chair. Of course there was nothing available that did not require major assembly. In order to get the space we needed, we set up our assembly line in the dorm hallway. Between the two pieces of furniture it seemed like there were thousands of nuts, bolts, screws and of course extra pieces the diagrams didn’t call for. Parents were supposed to be out by 5:00 but of course we were the last parents out trying to get all of this put together. Guys were stepping over us trying to meet and greet for the first time. S1 was nice enough to say he wasn’t embarrassed but I could see it written all over his face.</p>
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<p>Parental behavior such as this would have been unheard of when I attended college in the mid-late '90s. Her behavior would be more appropriate for parents of children entering K-8. I’d have been mortified if I had parents who acted like this when I was a 13 year old starting my freshman year in high school.</p>