There are many ways you can prepare your child for college life. From discussing how life will be different once they live on campus and what to expect from their time away from studying, teaching them how to cook for themselves so they have the skills they need not order takeout every day.
Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels
But there are some important topics and skills you can teach them that will not only be applicable for college but as they enter adulthood too.
What To Do If They Get Into Trouble
With no parents around, teenagers are naturally drawn to stretching their legs without parental supervision and experiencing everything college, and indeed life has to offer. This could mean they end up in some not-so-great situations. Giving your child the best tools and advice to deal with these types of issues maturely and responsibly can help them make the best judgment calls in the spur of the moment.
This can be anything from getting arrested, causing damage to other people’s property by accident, dealing with emotionally charged situations, to needing legal help. By giving them the knowledge and information to help themselves in the first instance – such as having the contact details for Kruger & Hodges Lawyers can help them do the right thing, even if they have been caught doing the wrong thing.
Respect and Consent
Many teens can hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. And the last thing you want to do is turn on the news and see your college-aged child being caught up in trouble. Teach them about how to respect themselves and others around them. Discuss consent and how it needs to be explicit when engaging in activities with other people or starting relationships with other people. Impress how important it is for them to respect other people’s boundaries and to have them in place for themselves.
Listening
Does your child really listen when you talk to them? Sometimes we can all be guilty of not paying attention, but talking to your child about how important it is to listen to those around them and really appreciate what is being said can help them be better people, better friends, and importantly, a better student.
Plan
A failure to plan is planning to fail, as the saying goes. And as their parents, you won’t be there to plan everything for them. You won’t be there to get them out of bed in time for lectures or even to make sure they are brushing their teeth every day.
But you can teach them how to be responsible for these things themselves. To effectively manage their time and plan their day so they aren’t constantly sleeping in, missing lessons, or not keeping on top of their workload.
Teaching your child some important life skills before they need to fend for themselves can not only give you peace of mind but give them the right tools to learn their way in the world.
As mentioned, I find it is very difficult to make them listen to us. I realize we had also failed to listen to them, but better late than never. We must encourage them to develop healthy communication with us during the transition phase of their life.