Okay, so good news first? Parents do actually have some influence over their kids' practice of risky behaviors like drinking and drugging and screwing, even when the kids are college-age. A new study found that if moms and dads are in the loop about what their offspring are doing, even when the kids are off at the dorms, the kids were less likely to do risky stuff like befriend a hooker and dance around in their underwear and consume tons of liquor. (Actually I think that Risky Business was about a teenager, not college kid, but you get the idea.) Specifically, when dads knew about their lives kids were less likely to have unsafe sex and use drugs; and when moms were in the know they were less likely to drink until they puked.
Bad news? I guess this means that it ain't over when they leave the nest, and while the study authors talk lots about how delaying adulthood is a good thing, I'm just saying, you've got more than 18 years ahead of you. But hey, beats having your kid wreck the Porche and help run a brothel for teens, so maybe there is no bad news here if you don't mind staying in touch with your kids for a long time.
P.S. Ahhh, remember when we didn't know that Tom Cruise was whackadoodle?
