Nancy Shisler knelt in front of the refrigerator in her daughter's Rather Hall room and pulled out a can of soda, scrunching her nose in disgust as she wiped mold off the top of the can.
A few feet away, her daughter, no-preference freshman Sabrina Shisler, unpacked clothes as she moved back into her residence hall Sunday night.
"It's nice to have her here to clean for me," Sabrina Shisler said, stopping to unpack for a moment as her mom lectured her about leaving food in the refrigerator during break.
The Shislers are part of a generational trend of parents becoming more involved in their children's college career.
"We're an active part, but she makes the choices," Nancy Shisler said.
Pamela Horne, MSU's assistant to the provost for enrollment management and director of admissions, said she attributes the trend to the baby boomer generation becoming more interested in their children's success.
"Parenting became a competitive sport in the '80s," Horne said. "I find it very interesting, because we baby boomer parents didn't want our folks involved and yet we're involved in our children's lives."
Horne plans to participate on a Web site panel for the Virginia-based College Parents of America by offering advice to group members about admissions.
"Anyone in the admissions business these days would say parents are taking a more active role in the process," Horne said.
The College Parents of America began in the late 1990s to aid the baby boomer generation in directing their children, dubbed "millennials," through college.
"This is the group of children who grew up with 'Baby on Board' in their minivan," group President Jim Boyle said, adding that the parents have always had their children take every opportunity available. "They just can't turn it off when their kids are ready to go to college."
The organization advocates on behalf of American college parents and offers advice to parents on everything from loans and scholarships to student health risks and alcohol use.
"College parents have never been represented in Washington or state capitals," Boyle said of the 900-person organization. "But we are not a union of parents trying to take on schools and issues of academic freedom or to complain about high prices."
East Lansing residents Mimi and Joel Heberlein said they joined College Parents of America when they were sending their first child, Samantha Heberlein, to college.
"It's kind of a one-stop shopping place," Mimi Heberlein said, adding that, even though she doesn't use the services much, she's thankful to have it. "I know that it's there, and I know that it's helpful."
Mimi Heberlein said she's active in her daughter's college career at Central Michigan University.
"If she needs things and needs advice, she calls," she said.
Samantha Heberlein said she doesn't mind her parents' involvement in her college life.
"At first, you're like 'Aw leave me alone, I'm out on my own, I'm at college,' but it's nice to know they're there," the CMU freshman said. "But it's good that they're active. And we have a pretty good understanding about what I can do."
But Anne Soderman, an MSU family and child ecology professor, said there could be dangers in parents overstepping their boundaries.
"Certainly, by the time people get to college, you hope that they'll be able to be articulate enough and be able to handle things," she said.
Soderman also encourages students to help pay for college as much as they can.
"Every bit that students can contribute financially contributes to their ability to be independent," she said. "Parents should be interested, parents ought to be supportive, but parents ought to be allowing children to be independent and take more responsibility."
However, Mimi Heberlein said she's not concerned about stifling her daughter's independence.
"You can learn independence, but in a safe way," she said.
For more information, go to www.collegeparents.org.
Amy Bartner can be reached at bartnera@msu.edu
