New Bumper Sticker Idea.......
My child can dial the phone. And do his own talking.

I just read an unbelievable article from the Boston Globe. No, wait, I can believe it. I have felt a little remiss because I was not as heavily invested in my children’s higher education plans as some of their friends’ parents. For instance, I didn’t even know when Emily needed to get her application in to Barat. She took care of it herself. And I felt like a bad mother. Maybe I’m doing the right thing after all.

Brad MacGowan, director of college counseling at Newton North High School, said most college counselors can point to cases where a parent's meddling backfired and contributed to a rejection. ''If a parent's making phone calls, how can it look good, that the child can't dial 10 numbers and ask a question?'' he said.

Among college admissions officers, theories abound to explain the behavior of parents: They weren't involved when their children were small, and this is their last chance. They've invested time and money in a child's resume. They want to brag to their friends, and bask in the glow of an Ivy League acceptance.

''They're so afraid that some other squeaky wheel is going to outparent them,'' said Linda Shapiro, a Newton-based college adviser and president of the New England Association for College Admissions Counseling.

But the parents get credit for caring. ''Any good parent wants the best for their child,'' McGrath Lewis said.

At the meeting with parents last week, Jones projected a list of ''don'ts'' onto a screen in the auditorium: Don't fill out applications for children. Don't make phone calls to admissions offices. Don't refer to ''our'' application (a phrase she says she hears five or six times a week). And most important, never threaten anyone.

Threatening people? Unreal. Well, my Dad did once threaten Marshall Field’s with legal action if my wedding dress didn’t arrive on time. But that was a crisis. But threaten my school, no, baby, I was on my own.