This is the moment all parents patiently await and dread. It’s the culmination of all their hard work being put to the test. The child that depended on you their entire life has finally grown into a fully independent person. It is understandable that the most natural reaction you have to this entails shedding lots and lots of tears. But it’s time to finally say goodbye to your child on a high note.
The Months Leading To the Departure
Senior years in high schools can take a toll on a child’s mental acuity. Their struggles with maintaining the minimum grade thresholds for their choice of college, college applications and the final events at the school community make life all the harder for them.
It’s at this point in time that their life deals some of its most bitter blows. And coming to terms with these blows can be a rollercoaster ride. They will subconsciously turn to you to vent their frustrations. But they don’t mean it. They are caught in a psychological rift between saying goodbye to you and still clutching to you for support.
Handle Their Emotional Outbursts
You should try your hardest to ignore all the emotional outbursts and hostile arguments before the departure – it’s perfectly normal for college-bound kids. The good news is that your child will go off to college and eventually grow into young men and women, and this will naturally get rid of the conflict. Each subsequent year of college will make them more rational, affectionate and fun to be around.
College Kids and Their Roommates
Your child will be sharing their college dorm room with another kid, and you as a parent don’t really have any control over it. This makes it very easy to form hostile opinions about this person. But this is your subconscious talking, not the rational you.
If you do not like the roommate, learn to live with this new fact and don’t voice your concern over it.
Preparing Them For When They Get Ill
You’re normally always around to take care of your kid when they get sick, but this time around you won’t be physically there to do anything.
In this situation, you should always arrange an essential health toolkit for them. It should include items like aspirin, pain relievers, cough drops, tea and a little something for those upset stomachs. They will definitely thank you for this one.
Help Them Embrace This New Chapter Of Their Life
At the end of the day, your child is a completely different person with their own thoughts and opinions. You have helped them become a new person and it is time for them to finally leave the sheltered nest. It is unnerving to know that two people who’ve been closest their entire lives are now becoming complete strangers because of distance. But you should embrace yourself for this inevitability. This, after all, is the cost of being a parent.
Let us know how you said your goodbyes to your college-bound student.
Optical Illusions
