February 5th, 2010
Study: Students Have More Mental Health Issues|ABC 13
I have to agree with this study. I have seen a steady increase in anxiety issues. We are failing to frustrate our children enough so they have the coping mechanisms for every day life.
The helicopter parent has been swooping down and saving their chick before anything painful happens like disappointment, failure or unpopularity. In their effort to be amazing parents, they have actually in many cases, disabled their children.
College is the last opportunity for students to discover these survival skills. It is like snow skiing or swimming… It would have been easier to learn as a young child but it is now or never.
When the coping skills are not there, seek professional help. Get your child to a mental heath counselor if necessary.
Do not over indulge your student. To much money and too much free time, creates its own set of problems.
Be a good listener. You have to be quiet to listen…
Have appropriate expectations.
Posted in Emotional Issues | No Comments »
February 2nd, 2010
College students rent textbooks to save money - washingtonpost.com
Happy Ground Hog Day! You may have noticed that your student is spending a fortune on text books. You can figure at least $1000 a year. If you are giving your student the money up front, they may be pocketing the money and skipping the purchase of some of the expensive texts.
Just like renting videos, your student can rent their books for half the amount. There are very few text books that your student will want to keep. The information changes by the year and by the professor. Renting is a great option.
So keep this information. There may be some books your student has not purchased yet - for this semester… Share this information with them.
For the Freshman students next year - gather this information now. Freshman are the largest group of students still shopping in the expensive college book store. Get smart early. Use the saved cash for something more fun than text books!
Posted in College Essentials, Resources, Campus | No Comments »
January 29th, 2010
Helicopter Parents
This posting is for parents of all ages… The allure of becoming a helicopter parent starts early in one’s parenting career.
Lessons learned in childhood, as a tween, a teen and a college student will serve your child for life. this is where lessons are learned under the protection of a family.
Allow your child to both “try and fail” and “try and succeed”.
Not everyone can be #1. Someone has to be second. It may be the person that comes in second that learns a valuable lesson, that takes them to the top the next time…
If parents do all the work, the parent denies the child the feeling of success. Success from knowing that they did it, on their own!
Land the helicopter and take a seat in the lounge. Celebrate your child’s successes or listen to their tales of woe. Always ask them, how they plan to solve their problem.
Posted in Parenting | No Comments »
January 26th, 2010
Letting go: Tips for parents of new college students - Planning for college | GreatSchools
Change is in the wind as you and your student is preparing for college. This article reviews many of the topics I have written about in this blog. It does not hurt to hear it from a different source.
Remember that change is good. It is part of growing and maturing but it can come with its own pain. This pain belongs to both the student and the parent. The parent longs for the years gone by… The student wants independence but it is scary too.
It is all rights of passage and soon you will be on a different level in your relationship with your student. If you do it properly, if you both do it properly, then it is even better.
Posted in Parenting, Emotional Issues | No Comments »
January 22nd, 2010
Now That the Application Is In, What’s a Parent to Do? - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com
The take away from this article is to allow the student to feel the satisfaction of being accepted or the disappointment of not being accepted without you, the parent, taking ownership.
Do not compare your student with any other student.
Do not discuss anything that is not supportive with other parents.
Be supportive and kind when your student does not get the acceptance they have been waiting for. No “I told you so’s…”. This is not the time. This will not be the first time in their life that they will not get what they wanted. This is a life lesson.
Celebrate every success, every acceptance as if this is THE acceptance. It may become the acceptance that works for your child.
Do not put the weight of the world on one acceptance letter. It may not be the right college for your child.
Enjoy these last months with your high school student. You will never get them back. Often the senior year is lost to stress and over scheduling. Try to savor the time.
Posted in Admissions | No Comments »
January 19th, 2010
Do you remember college? Hectic, disorganized, poor eating habits but you are having the time of your life!
Meal planning can help the colege student make it to the end of the month on their allowance. Fast Foods and junk food quickly eats through a weekly allowance. Students, even their parents are not aware of just how much money they can save by planning their meals. Boiling pasta and opening a jar of sauce, then sprinkling it with parmesan is a quick, inexpensive meal that can be prepared in the barest of kitchens. There are other economical, easy dishes that can be added to meal planning.
I was adding up with a client recently what a parent pays for gourmet coffee for four years for four college students. It is both amazing and shocking.
Parents need to start early including their teenagers and their tweens with the grocery shopping and meal planning. Do this before they are completely on their own. Economical meal planning may leave enough money at the end of the week for a dinner out or a movie.
When I was making my monthly payments for Florida’s prepaid tuition, parents told me the tuition was not the main financial burden… It is the living expenses. It was hard for me to fathom but they were right. So, include some daily living skills in your parenting prior to sending your kiddo off to college. It will save some financial pain later.
Posted in Financial, Parenting | No Comments »
January 15th, 2010
Ten Parental Habits That Can Negatively Affect Your College Student | College Parent Central
This is a great blog entry from College Parent Central. As parents we try so hard but our efforts may be working against our students success. Remind yourself what is your responsibility and what is your students responsibility. Always ask yourself… Does this belong to me? Does it belong to the student?
Posted in Parenting, Admissions | No Comments »
January 12th, 2010
Parents, Read This if Your Child Is Applying to College - Professors’ Guide (usnews.com)
The application for college is an important shift for young adults. The college experience belongs to them and now is the time the parent shifts into the collaborative role and allow the student to begin their journey to young adulthood and independence.
Posted in Admissions | No Comments »
January 8th, 2010
According to Sallie Mae’s 2009 credit card study 84% of all undergraduate college students have at least one credit card and the average number of cards each student has is 4.6. We all know that our student will have a credit card at one time in their life. So when is this a good idea?
I personally believe that we want our students to develop credit card spending habits while still under our guidance. So this goes against the idea of denying students to have credit cards.
Just as I have written about curfews. You want your student to practice their social habits while they are under your care and protection. Then when they have issues of bad judgment, you are there to help THEM problem solve how they will remedy the situation.
According to the Sallie Mae study, only 17% of students with a credit card pay off the balance in full every month. This means that 82% of all students with credit cards consistently carry a balance on their credit cards (the other 1% have a parent or family member paying their credit card bills for them).
This is scary. So sit down with your student and apply for a credit card. Allow them to learn how to properly use the card under your guidance just like when you took them to the bank to open their first savings account as part of teaching them the value of saving money.
Posted in Financial | No Comments »
January 1st, 2010
U.S. College Students Gain Edge in Global Job Market
The international experience puts your student ahead of the game professionally and personally. They will need to put their skills on the global market during their professional tenure. By using their college experience to spend time studying abroad they are just that much further ahead.
This is a great New Years Resolution for the entire family. As we look at the current job market we need to acknowledge that there are over 200 countries in this world as we know it. Why limit ourselves professionally to just the USA. BareFootConsultants.com will show you how to put your skills, hobbies and passions no matter what your age on the global market.
Posted in Life Overseas | No Comments »
