Parenting the College Kid
By Jackie Burrell, About.com Guide to Young Adults
Just because the kids have taken off for college doesn't mean your parenting days are over. Instead of playing the 24/7 parent, your new role includes providing long distance, reassuring support and guidance, and packing and mailing off the occasional care package, while grappling with your own empty nest emotions. Here's a practical guide to what lies ahead - for both of you.
Dorm Life
From laundry to extra-long sheets, dorm life involves new skills and new experiences. Here's a guide to what your college kid is likely to need, from paperwork to bandaids.
Health & Safety
You may not be there to hover over every sniffle, but there are things you can do to help your college student stay safe and healthy, starting with good preventative care, a good first aid kit and a clue about the health dangers sudden independence can carry.
- Vaccines for College Kids
- Meningitis & Other Dorm Scares
- College Stress and Campus Calm
- 6 Signs That It's Not Just Stress
- 10 De-Stressing Activities
- 5 Signs of Hazing: Is Your College Kid Being Hazed?
- Protecting Your Teen Against Hazing
- Sobering Statistics on Campus Alcohol Use
- College & Alcohol: When Friends Get Into Trouble
- Alcohol Intervention: Helping Your Teen, Helping Others
- Dorm First Aid
- Vaccines & Health Issues for Students Studying Abroad
College Cash
It's not just the tuition. Parental pocketbooks seem to hemorrhage cash during the college years. Here's the lowdown on what to expect - including such unexpected expenses as lab coats, piano tuning fees and a $940 textbook tab - along with some money saving tips.
- A Parent Guide to Scholarships and Financial Aid
- Tackling the Federal Aid Application or FAFSA
- 5 Tips on Filling Out the FAFSA
- Essential Documents for the FAFSA
- After the FAFSA
- Money Saving Tips for College Families
- 8 Common Myths About Financial Aid
- 5 Ways to Save Money on Textbooks
- Beyond Tuition: The Other Costs of College
- College Financial Aid Defined
- Scholarship Resources
Study Abroad
More than a quarter million U.S. college students spend a semester or year abroad, studying at foreign universities. Popular, yes, but studying abroad is a major undertaking. Here's a quick rundown on issues parents may want to discuss with their kids beforehand.
- Study Abroad Tips for Parents
- Top 10 Study Abroad Countries
- Study Abroad $$$: How Much Will it Cost
- Study Abroad Options for Music & Pre-Med Students
Care Packages & Presents
There may be no sweeter words in the English language than "care package." That lowly cardboard box filled with cookies and notes from home is a definite morale booster for college kids, and for parents, it's a great way to sublimate those empty nest emotions too. Here's a how-to on packing, filling and mailing those boxes, plus a slew of gift ideas college kids will love.
- Care Package 101 - All the How-Tos
- Mailing Tips
- Perfect, Quirky Contents for Care Packages
- Hosting a Care Package Cookie Exchange
- Care Package Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Care Package Recipe: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Stocking Stuffers for College Kids
- Holiday Gifts for College Kids (Under $30)
- More Holiday Gifts for College Kids ($30-$150)
Empty Nests
Everyone told you it would go quickly, and you didn’t believe it. But all at once, you’re standing in a college parking lot trying not to weep into your 6-ft. tall baby’s hoodie.
- 7 Ways to Vanquish the Empty Nest Blues
- Even Siblings Get the (Empty Nest) Blues
- Staying Close While Letting Go
Holidays & Family Vacations
That first, eagerly anticipated trip back home can be a rocky one. You imagined hours of long, lovely talks with your college student, just the two of you. He imagined sleeping away the stress of midterms, hanging with his high school friends till 2 a.m. and oh yeah, there’s this giant sack of laundry… These tips can help you navigate the holidays and family vacations and make those shared experiences joyful.
