Parenting 101: Preparing Your Teen for College Life

Educational attainment greatly depends on how your children perform at school. While there is little you can do to help them in activities inside the classroom, there is a lot of help you can provide for all other things. One of these aspects, and probably a crucial one, is to prepare them for a tougher challenge when moving up to college.

There are many things that your child goes through when transitioning to college. One is the environment. Your child has the convenience of living under your roof since they were born. Moving to a different housing environment and living independently takes a lot of emotional strength. Another is the admission test. What your teen has invested academically since preschool will be tested by an entrance exam to the college (and eventually career) of their own choosing. At times though this may not be enough, especially for universities that take pride in high standards, which often means a more difficult admission exam.

College times are long gone for you. You’ve experienced first-hand how tough it is. Now, your child is about to start that same journey soon. You cannot influence how your child’s brain works. Anything you can do to help prepare them for college will help develop their mental, psychological and physical strength.

College fund

If there would be a scholarship for everyone, then education would be easier financially. But that is not how the world works, especially in college. Higher education is more expensive than ever before, especially adding in things such as off campus housing, reading material and school fees, related to your child’s chosen degree.

Saving for a college fund is the ideal solution to ensure you and your child won’t struggle financially. Allocating the extra money to pay for college that will still happen a number of years from now might be difficult at the present time. But it relieves you and your child of the stress and anxiety of financial insufficiency. No one knows what might occur in the next five or ten years. If you are struggling financially by then, at least you have already saved up enough for your child’s four years in college. And they can focus all their time on learning rather than spending it on part-time or full-time work just to pay to stay in school.

Recognize the academic struggles

Your child may not speak to you about it out of fear or disappointment. But you should monitor their academic performance, accept the struggles and do something about it. At times as parents, there is a tendency to be in denial when a child breaks down but show heaps of pride when a child excels.

Be it in low or high performance, you need to check on your child’s academics. Because if they are not performing well, the struggle will continue and might worsen if not resolved. So, the first thing to do is to accept that there are weaknesses in your child’s academic performance. Let them know that it is okay to struggle sometimes and assure them that they can always ask for help from you.

If there really is a learning difficulty, then you should seek help. If the struggle is mostly distractions, then be a parent and let them talk to you. Relieve your child of the stress that is plaguing them. Maybe they just need someone to talk to. For other academic concerns, just relax and let your child work on their homework or projects on their own. You need to gauge how far they can go. That will help your child discover their potential and refrain from depending on someone to do the work for them.

Teach them how to deal with pressure

In whatever form, pressure forces someone to commit wrong things. Academic, peer or even parental pressures might lead to uncharacteristic habits, rebellious behavior, or resorting to binge-drinking or illegal drugs.

Teach them how to cope up with stress and manage pressure. Always remind your child that you have an open communication, so they won’t have to deal with any problems alone. Help them reduce stress by teaching breathing techniques when anxiety hits. Simple things like this can avoid them hitting the panic button. Also, always remind them to be grateful for all the things in their life and that a bad day does not mean a bad life.

If you have been through the college life, you know how strenuous it can be. You have experienced the steep hill climbing to graduation. Now, it is your child’s time to get through this phase. As early as possible, prepare them to be resilient to withstand the struggles.