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College students have many issues that they must face as they move out of their parent’s home and into a dorm such as How to do laundry. How to deal with peer pressure in teens. To study effectively. And to keep the lines of communication open with their parents.
What to do When Moving Out of Your Parents’ House
Teenagers Moving Into a Dorm
When teenagers go to live in the dorm they are often on their way to being on their own for the first time in their lives. Preparing teens to live with the many choices they will have is part of a parent’s responsibility. Teaching them basic skills for living alone.
How to handle stress at college. And how important it is to keep communication between the parent and teen open are great ways to help your child succeed when moving out of your parents’ house.
Basic Skills for Living Alone When Moving Out of Your Parent’s House
There are a few basic skills that college students need to be able to do on their own before they move out of their parent’s home or before they leave the comforts of home.
Although there are meals available in a cafeteria. The savvy college student will know how to cook and prepare a meal that is both tasty and nutritious.
Also, the student needs to be able to do laundry without causing whites to turn red. These two skills are the basis of what the teen will need to know when moving out of their parent’s house. But there are many more skills that can be helpful.
College students need to understand money, how to earn it and how to spend it wisely.
Whether the student earns his money or it is given to him, he gets money from a grant or scholarship, he needs to understand what it takes to earn the money he is spending and how to spend only the money he needs so that it will last for the allotted amount of time.
Even if Mom and Dad are the ones paying their child’s way. The teen should be expected to budget what they have and not be given the opportunity to continually ask for more.
It is important to note, if you expect your child to budget his money, you have to make sure he knows how before he gets into financial trouble. This will make the student more responsible and better ready to handle money when he is on his own.
Credit card companies prey on college students. So they should also understand how a card works. How you pay it. And how the company makes its money off of interest.
Stress at College
There are many types of stress at college. How to study and do well in a class is one of the most misunderstood skills a college student needs. Many high schools, while good in their own right, do not prepare a student for the studying required in college.
It is important that the parents make sure their child is equipped with the knowledge to succeed in school.
Whether this means teaching them the essential skills themselves. Asking a friend or one of their teachers to work with them. Or even hiring a tutor.
The parent should ensure that the student begins college with the necessary skills to succeed in the tough classes ahead. This will cut down on much of the stress for a new college student.
Another type of stress for a college student is peer pressure. Of course, peer pressure begins in preschool. However, there is no pressure like that of having your friends “talk you into” doing something when there are no parents there to check you on it. With parents miles or even hundreds of miles away.
Peer pressure at college can cause a student to get into trouble with drinking or drugs that they had managed to avoid all through earlier education.
Informing your child about the pressures that they will face and teaching them how to answer their friends and handle the jest that could come with not going along with the crowd can mean the difference in having your child succeed and getting lost in the social aspect of college life.
Communication between Parent and Child
Maintaining a good relationship with your child can also be essential to their college success. If the lines of communication are open between the parent and child. Then the teen can feel comfortable coming to the parent when they are facing trials such as financial difficulty and peer pressure.
If the child is trying their best but can’t keep his grades where he wants them, he will be able to go to the supportive parent and ask for help. That help could come from the parent but more likely from the parent helping to find and pay for a qualified tutor to help the student get back on track.
Part of keeping the lines of communication open includes corresponding often with your child. Send a care package one time a month with items that will make your child feel at home and feel safe in their world.
A care package could include a personal note. An extra blanket. Their favorite cookie. Or anything else that will help the child to remember that you are there for them. Care packages are great for anyone who wants to stay in touch with the teenager as he moves through the next stage of life.
College Success
If your teenager knows the basic skills of dorm life. Has learned how to deal with the many stresses that can approach him when moving out of his parent’s house. And has the opportunity to keep the lines of communication open between himself and his parents, other family members, and friends. He is more likely to succeed in college.
For more information on your teen moving out of your home for the first time. Read: Parenting Young Adults Moving Out On Their Own.