“caretaker moms” to watch over young students far from their families

Americans often study away from home, so MindyKNOWS pioneered the concept of “concierge moms.” These people are there to help and advise adolescents, but not to do the laundry or ironing.

After the concept of “helicopter parents”these parents so concerned about their children that they are never very far away, as if they were constantly hovering over them, here are the “moms concierge”. In the United States, theEntry into college, like a high school graduation ceremony, is a powerful moment in the life of a young American. It is perhaps a little less formal in France where many students return to their parents after a day of classes. In a country as huge as the United States, their university is sometimes very far from their family, even by plane.

So the “moms concierge” are there to replace loved ones and provide all kinds of services. Pick up the teenager at the airport for example, help him assemble a piece of furniture, bring him medicine or food if he is sick or simply drop off a small birthday cake if he is celebrating alone, far away. from is home. Typically, these concierges know the city where the campus is located so they can also recommend places to eat or which doctors to see. On the other hand, they are not there to do laundry, cook or iron.

MindyKNOWS, “Mindy knows.” in French, was launched in 2019 in Missouri by a mother whose child finished university: Mindy Horwitz. She sees herself and her team as an extension of the family to the approximately 100 clients she currently has. “Yesshe said to Wall Street Journal, students could pay an Uber or DoorDash for certain services, but there is no relationship established with a delivery person whereas with MindyKNOWS, a bond can be created, which also reassures parents.

Some 49 dollars for a month, 450 for a year

Covid allowed Mindy to expand her business to other campuses across the United States since parents were unable to travel at all to help their offspring. And then because she is local, logistically she will have less difficulty in resolving certain problems than a student who is discovering the region. It costs 49 dollars for a month, 250 for a quarter, 450 for the year and 1,600 over the four years that the university course lasts in general.

In Boston, another comparable but more upscale service charges $10,000 for the entire school year. In Tampa Bay, Florida, a concierge charged $45 to drive a student to the airport and drop her off at terminal security, with a photo for parents. But more than the price, the problem raised concerns the relevance of the concept. Entering university is a sort of coming of age, where adolescents learn, for those who don’t already know, to live on their own and be independent. Does a “concierge mom” doesn’t slow down their development if she manages too many things for them?