Preparing your kids for college is extremely important as a parent. It is the next step they are taking to growing up and there are a lot of responsibilities and consequences that come from starting out university. Even if your kids are going to a local college or going abroad, for many teenagers it is their opportunity to move out of their home and start being more responsible for themselves.
Going into college means that your kids are growing up and they are responsible to take care of themselves, their actions and what happens in school. For that reason, as a parent, it is one of your main duties to prepare them for what there is to come. If you don’t know where or how to get started, here are some tips of what you can talk about to your teen before they go off to college.
1. Its Not High School Anymore
Going to college is not like highschool anymore. Students don’t get any more free passes from their teachers, this time it is about taking responsibility for yourself and no one will tell you what to do. This means that if you don’t study for your test, or hand in homework, no teacher is going to nag at you, you are simply going to fail.
2. Alcohol and Partying
For some teenagers, going to college means that they will be able to party without parental supervision and everybody wants to go wild and crazy. Talk about your teenager about this, tell them what to expect and how they should be responsible for their actions. Partying and engaging in intercourse means that they take their own decisions and that mistakes have consequences and can actually ruin their lives.
3. A Fresh Start
In a certain way, going to college is a fresh start for lots of teenagers, they might go to a school with new students and make new friends, to talk to them about making a first impression, about being true to themselves and about making honest and real friends. Often people say that the friends you make in college, they will remain your friends all of your life, and for that reason you want to be true to who you are. High School is in the past, where everyone was trying to fit in and go through uncomfortable changes, now it’s time to grow up and be who you are, and have people love you for that.
4. Goals and Their Future
Talk about the future with your kids, about their goals and expectations in life. Talk to them on how college is the road to the path that they want and build the hope and excitement for the future. Don’t discourage them by telling them that it’s complicated and lots of studying, tell them that they are about to live some of the best years of their life and that they should really enjoy it and make the most of it.