The anticipation of a student coming home for Thanksgiving or Winter breaks is often a mixed bag of emotions. Happiness that they are coming home, concerns about changes and new levels of independence. Your student is experiencing much of the same. With a little forethought and discussion families can reduce the opportunity for stressful [...]
My dad passed away five years ago this month — and a day doesn’t go by when I don’t feel that my parenting is strongly influenced by how he parented me. My parenting tool kit is rich with strategies, options and alternatives, because Parenting Lesson #1 is: There is always another way — many ways in [...]
While colleges design Family Weekend to be festive, informative and fun, it is often a time when students and their parents have very different expectations about how the two or three days will be spent. Family Weekend can actually be a stressful time, but there are many things you can do to keep the weekend [...]
So much time is focused on what your student might need to pack — take a moment and think about what you might want to bring. 1. Extra Time – everything will take longer than you expect 2. Printed map of area and campus – a GPS is not foolproof – know where you are going [...]
College is packed with transitions and change, not just during the first year, but during all the years, so having opportunities to develop and strengthen skills usually equates to greater success along the way. Let’s look at some of the skills that contribute to a student’s success during college: adjusting to residential living; taking on a [...]
Keep Your Summer Traditions Alive and Consider Adding New Ones! The Parenting Challenge: If your student is home for the summer you might be feeling like roommates working different shifts, seeing each other in passing and only exchanging a pleasantry or two each day. This usually feels pretty awkward and while on one hand [...]
10 Hot Zones for Conflict When Your College Student Returns Home for the Summer If your student is coming home for the summer you might already be feeling a bit anxious about what that will mean for your family. Families that establish clear and shared expectations usually experience less stress in the long run. Ideally you [...]
Informed Parents Ask… Should I help my student choose his or her major? Many colleges require students to declare a major by second semester of the sophomore year. Some students have a genuine sense of clarity around which major they want to choose, other students are undecided, and still others pick a major just for [...]
Informed Parents Ask… What if my college student is unhappy? It is difficult to hear when our student is unhappy, especially when we know what the price tag is of a college education. Lots of times a student may seem universally unhappy but more often than not, with effective communication, we can learn what is [...]
Students desperately need help learning how to verbalize their strengths and competencies with confidence. This is increasingly important when they seek campus leadership positions, apply for summer internships or jobs, approach faculty about joining research teams, etc. What does this have to do with parenting? Create opportunities, through conversation, for your student to talk about his or her strengths. In doing [...]
