College life is one of the most celebrated phases in a person’s journey, and one always looks back at it with nostalgia. While we might have felt like changing some things about our college life, most of us have accepted our journey even if it wasn’t perfect. But when our own children go to university for the first time, we as parents want to make the path as easy for them as we can. We don’t want them to learn things the hard way and suffer due to a lack of guidance.
Prepare your child for the next phase of his/her life with the following tips:
- It is an emotional moment for children to leave their homes for the first time and enter a new world full of uncertainties. The house was a safety net, where their needs were taken care of, and had emotional support from their parents. Prepare your children to learn to be self-dependent and be able to make decisions for themselves.
- They will have to manage their own finances too. Teach them the importance of saving money because it can be tempting to spend on fancy things just because their friends are doing so. Advise them to use the money judiciously.
- Social skills need to be upgraded because they will meet a lot of new people and make new friends. There is no guarantee that every person they meet will be friendly to them and treat your children the same way they do. Children can get affected easily by such behaviours and they need to be told how to navigate through negative and conflicting emotions.
- Busy schedules and non-availability of their favourite food can take a toll on their eating habits and students can turn to unhealthy food to cope. They should be taught about the negative consequences of continuous consumption of junk food and advised to monitor their diet. They will be prone to falling ill by continuous intake of less-nutritive, calorie-laden food.
- Ensure a healthy balance between academics and enjoying hostel life. Distractions can be plenty, but with the right frame of mind, students can prioritize important things accordingly.
