Helicopter Parenting

I've read "Colleges Try to Deal With Hovering Parents" and had a great laugh. After 18, children are on their own. Sink or swim is the test of one's parenting. The goal of parents is to get their children ready for real life by the time they turn 18 (I'm going for 17, since in Texas, that's the age that police will stop taking run away reports).

If they're so concerned, where were they when their little johnny was in k-12? Shouldn't they invest their time and energy before their children are legally adults rather than afterwards?