Posts from — November 2009

Your college student is coming home for his first real visit since he headed off to college.  You’re excited – but also a bit nervous about what to expect.  You know that he has changed – increased independence and responsibility are goals of the college experience.  But you may not be sure how this increased independence will affect your relationship.  Your college student is probably nervous, too.  He can’t wait to come home to show off his new found independence, but he’s not sure how he will fit in with the family now.

The first step in a successful visit with your student may be simply anticipating that things will be different, and possibly awkward.  You will need to get to know some new aspects of your student.  You may need to negotiate some ways of behaving and some expectations.  As has so often been the case throughout this process, brushing up on your listening skills and your patience will go a long way.  Here are a few suggestions that may help to ease the experience for everyone.

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As college parents we worry about our student’s transition when she heads off to college.  We know that it will be a big adjustment and that she will be facing challenges and undergoing changes.  Sometimes, however, we forget that there will also be a big adjustment and some challenges when our college student returns home again for her first real vacation.  Whether it is Thanksgiving break or winter break, the first longer visit home will be a time of readjustment and reacquaintance for everyone.

In this post, we’ll consider some of the things you might expect when your college student returns home for a first visit.  In our next post, we’ll consider some specific things that you might do to help that first visit go more smoothly.

Your student is probably anxious to come home and settle in, but she may also be worried about what things will be like when she gets home.  You are excited about having her home, but you may also be nervous about what to anticipate.  Parents who expect that everything at home will return to the way things were before your student left for college may be caught off guard and will have difficulty.  Here are a few things to consider before your student comes home for her first visit.

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As November arrives and we enter the season of holidays, your college student is well past the mid-point of the semester.  If your student was a new, first-year student this fall, she is probably feeling that she is past the transition period.  If your student is not a new college student, the mid-point of another semester is one more step closer to graduation.

Now that the end of the semester may be in sight, the hard work of the semester also settles heavily on students’ shoulders.

We’ve done a roundup of posts for November that you and your student may find helpful as everyone digs in to the work, anticipates the holidays and a break from school, and heads toward the semester finish line.   If you haven’t already done so, you might want to review our roundup of posts of interest for the month of October – and even look back to posts suggested for September and August.  Take some time to read and review these posts, and you will be well armed for the weeks ahead.

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