Parents want their children to go to college because they want them to do better in life. The most successful kids have parents who tell them that they can become anything they want. They realize that there are no boundaries and they can become anything they want to be. Parents that see college in their kids’ future help them achieve that goal no matter how much money or time it takes. Nothing can compare to the feeling you have when your kid gets accepted into college. Pride and excitement are just a few examples of emotions that parents experience. As a parent, you are not responsible for the success of your offspring. However, you play an important part in providing the needed support. The first year in college can be a difficult time as they go through many changes and time away from home. You will want to make this transition as smooth as possible by following these tips.
1. Tell the college-bound student the truth about independence
You will not be thrilled to see your kid leave home, but there is nothing that you can do about it. It is a moment that comes along once in a lifetime and can change your lives for the better. Your child will go off to their dorm room and start a new chapter in their life. Until now, you have done many things for your son or daughter. The result is that your kid lacks independence and problem-solving skills. The transition from dependence to independence happens naturally. Nevertheless, this does not happen to everyone. So, you might just have to teach your kid how to be independent. In college, young people need to set their own agenda and search for answers themselves as they study. Teaching your offspring about responsibility and combat the entitlement attitude. Your child needs to understand that living away from home means that they will have to take care of themselves. They will have to embrace independence and learn to manage things on their own.
2. Make it okay to ask for help
To help youngsters develop independence, parents should respect their kids wishes and to try not to be too intrusive. When parents become intrusive in their children’s lives, they can send a message that they cannot get by on their own. It is necessary to respond with maturity to the situation. Your college student may not be inclined to seek assistance when times get hard. Being able to reach out is a sign of maturity but some students do not view it this way. You can encourage your college student to leverage the resources that are available to them, such as tutoring. Tutoring helps students, as well as teachers, offering benefits such as time-saving, care about individual needs, and working on areas that require additional focus. If you happen to notice that your child is struggling with a subject such as science or chemistry, you might want to help them explore this option as a possible way to increase their success rate. Let them know that it is perfectly okay to ask for help. There are countless of tutoring options and some private tutors offering chemistry tuition to help students improve for example in that chemistry class where your child needs help. More and more schools are acknowledging the importance of additional support such as seeking private teachers in order to improve the student success rates. The point is that there are many support systems that your kid can take advantage of if they are more open to asking for help.
3. Have the college student home for the holidays
The first-holiday break is something to be excited about. Your youngster will come home for the very first time. The absence has been long, but the longer that your kid has been away from home, the sweeter their visit will be. You will want to welcome your first-year college student back with planning some activities. The best way to approach this is to ask your son or daughter what they want to do. Perhaps your child is in the mood for shopping. If this is the case, go on a shopping spree together. Instead of doing something nostalgic, you might want to take the entire family out to dinner or to visit other friends and family. Whatever you decide to do, it is important that you find ways to make conversation and talk about the college experience.. You will get to see if your kid is truly happy and how things are at school.
4. Talk about expectations
As mentioned earlier, youngsters can thrive when their parents have high expectations of them. Parental beliefs and attitudes influence individual outcomes, surprising as this may seem. Communicating and enforcing expectations is something of an art and as a parent you should try to find effective ways that work for them. The way in which you communicate your hopes and dreams can positively or negatively impact the college student’s self-esteem, which is the reason why you need to be careful. Do not ask for perfection. Anticipate mistakes and, most importantly, foresee some things that are not going to go well. It is a good idea to have explicit conversations with your child. Focus the discussion around academic work. As long as there is a positive relationship between parental expectations and academic stress, attaining academic excellence is possible.
5. Help the college student decide on a major
The vast majority of academic programs provide necessary and relevant preparation in their undergraduate studies. Still, some students are put in the situation of having to identify marketable majors and careers. Picking a major that is a good fit for your child is something that you can assist with, however it is important that you let them decide on their own. The decision is an important one and there is no need to select a major right away. So, they have plenty of time to assess the situation and decide what is best. Take the time to find out what your son or daughter really wants and help them come up with a list.
