There’s a lot of preparation needed as your child readies to leave for college, and not all of it involves tuition payments and picking out a bedspread for her dorm room. As the senior year of high school gets underway and the rush to campus looms on the horizon, parents need to prepare themselves for their child’s flight from the nest. As the time draws near, learn and practice the following 20 rules for the parents of college-bound kids:
-
Don’t cling. Separation is hard on everyone
-
Don’t cry. She started leaving you the moment she was born.
-
Have a list of must-have telephone numbers ready, just in case.
-
Hover, but don’t stalk.
-
Remember that your child is an adult; she needs to solve this without you.
-
Listen to what she is really saying.
Read Related: Generation 1st! Three Latinas Discuss Their College-Bound Dreams #CollegeMami #HazLaU
-
Offer opinions only when asked.
-
Bite your tongue.
-
Set a time to talk, keep to it, and then hang up the phone when the time is right.
-
Be a safety net only when she says she is falling.
-
Don’t judge her new friends or boyfriend—some of them are only temporary.
-
Embrace the change for both of you.
-
Change the sheets, but don’t rearrange her room just yet.
-
Schedule visits, don’t just drop in.
-
Know when to step in.
-
Learn when to back off.
-
Let her make mistakes, and just hope they’re not big ones.
-
Expect that when she comes home to visit, she’s going to seem much more mature.
-
Expect that when she comes home to visit, she’s going to want to hang out with friends, not you.
-
Remind her that home is a safe haven forever.
-
Congratulate yourself: your child is an adult, you did well!
Editor’s Note: This article is one in a series presented in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and designed to help parents prepare to send their kids off to college, brought to you by Colgate.
