Child Submitting Application Without You Seeing

[Anonymous]

I'm amazed so many cannot see that this is merely an opportunity to teach your child that important documents need to be proofread prior to submission, something that responsible, professional adults have other people help them with every day. It doesn't have to be a parent doing the proofreading, but someone should do it.

Independence could mean you wait for them to ask you or someone else, after you teach them that this is a step they should take. They might not know this.

[Anonymous]

Mine eldest did. Happily at his dream school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine eldest did. Happily at his dream school.

Both of my kids submitted without me seeing the application or the essay.

#1 graduated from college in the spring.

#2 is at her dream school right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed so many cannot see that this is merely an opportunity to teach your child that important documents need to be proofread prior to submission, something that responsible, professional adults have other people help them with every day. It doesn't have to be a parent doing the proofreading, but someone should do it.

Independence could mean you wait for them to ask you or someone else, after you teach them that this is a step they should take. They might not know this.

It's nonsense to suggest that teenagers applying to college might not know this. Having other people proofread your work is a standard part of school work. They have been taught the value of proofreading.

The question of this thread is not "is having someone else proofread your work helpful." It's what do you as a parent do when your child doesn't want YOU to be the person who proofreads their application. The answer there is that you shut up and accept their decision because it's their life, not yours. This still applies when they're making mistakes. Frankly, if you're the kind of parent whose instinct when your kid tells you this is to run upset to DCUM, they're probably making a logical choice to accept the risk rather than deal with you. It actually IS a lot like legal writing. It's a good idea to have someone else read your legal brief. It's not a generally good idea for that to be the client. If you're a parent who is acting like a client, then I'd recommend the kid find someone else to proofread.

If it were my kid, I recommend, but not insist, that they find another adult to look it over. That's the answer.