Reactions When Students enter College
Most parents experience:
- Adventurous feelings
- Sense of loneliness
- An openness to change
- Independence
- Depression
Adjustments, Concerns, and Transitions
Most parents are:
- Having more free time
- Responsible for fewer people at home
- Re-establishing their own personal identity
- Having separation anxiety from their student
- Trying to fill a void
- Relinquishing control
- Adjusting to being left out of their student's daily activities and decisions
- Understanding that their student will ascertain his/her independence
- Realizing the student will be exploring new social and academic opportunities
Adjustment and Establishing New Relations
Most parents need to:
- Encourage students to trust themselves by providing support and freedom
- Promote students to establish new relationships and explore opportunities
- Develop new interests of their own
- Trust the student to function as a successful young adult
- Guide rather than pressure their student
- Allow for mistakes while understanding there will be ups and downs
- Determine appropriate expectations and guidelines while being explicit
- Offer advice when asked and listen
- Support student's problem-solving skills rather than rushing to solve the problem
- Realize the student's life is his/her own
- Acknowledge and accept student's limits and strengths
- Expect change
- Occasionally visit and write