Posts from — June 2009

As our college student heads off to college, we may be feeling the “empty nest” syndrome, even though there are still other children at home.  The family is different now, with one or more students off to college.  We know that things are different and we work to adjust to the new family dynamic.  However, parents and college students are not the only ones making an adjustment.  When our college student leaves home, siblings remaining at home will be feeling the change, and the loss, as well.  There are some things that we can think about as parents, and that we can help our college student to think about, to make this adjustment go smoothly for siblings remaining at home.

Obviously, how we deal with siblings at home will depend on their age.  A sibling in high school, approaching college himself, will have different perceptions and needs than a young child.  Family dynamics are also unique and vastly different.  But certain actions and conversations may be helpful to anyone.

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In an earlier post, we suggested some of the considerations parents and students might want to discuss as they decide whether or not the student will take a car to campus.  Many colleges prohibit first-year students from bringing cars, but at some point during the college years, your student may want to consider whether or not to take a car to school.

More and more colleges are encouraging their students to leave their cars home.  As more students bring cars to school, parking on many campuses is becoming a serious issue.  Colleges and universities are also trying to do their part to institute policies which are environmentally friendly.  So if your college student is considering whether or not to take a car to school, he might want to investigate the alternatives available.

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