College Parent Central

#027 – Student Anxiety: Helping Your Student Cope

October 7, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

College can be a time when many students face new academic and social challenges that can feel overwhelming. Differentiating the stress of these situations from the anxiety students experience is a first step toward helping them cope with their feelings. In this episode, Lynn and Vicki share some strategies to help students channel their stress in positive ways. Parents learn how to help students understand and handle their own anxiety.

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College Parent News and Views

October 1, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

The more that college parents know and understand about the college experience, the less we worry and the better we will be able to help our students to succeed and thrive throughout their college career. However, there is an overwhelming amount of information out there on the web. We’d like to help you find some of the information that might be most interesting and useful to you as a college parent.

In News and Views we share recent college related news and sources we’ve found as we do our research. We hope that this feature will help to introduce you to new ideas and to help you keep up with some of the current issues that may affect your college student – and you.

We invite you to read some of the articles suggested below – and to let us know what you think of some of the ideas included here.

#026 – College Parenting at a Distance

September 16, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

When your student goes away to college you may feel that your parenting job is ending. You’re told to “let go,” but in reality, your role just shifts to a new stage. In this episode, Vicki and Lynn talk about some of the changes that take place as we find new ways to parent our students from a distance. It is important that parents think about how to stay in touch without hovering, how to make the most of opportunities to communicate with their student, how to detect potential difficulties, as well as what to do when you can’t attend those special events. Parents can use this process of changing roles to establish new and lasting ways to connect with their emerging adult students.

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Whether Your College Student Is On Campus or Home: 20 Ideas for a Successful Semester

September 7, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

This semester looks different at almost every college in the nation. As each school attempts to find ways to educate their students in the midst of a pandemic, there are students studying fully on campus, fully at home, studying in hybrid modes and just about everything in between. Some schools are already well into their semester, some haven’t yet begun their year yet, and many have had to pivot from their original plans.

All of this means that your student has already had to adapt and adjust to new ways of doing college. Whether your student is a brand-new first-year student or a veteran sophomore, junior or senior, the approach to college this year is a first for everyone.

As a parent, you worry first about whether your student will remain healthy, but you may also worry about how your student will fare with all of these new ways of learning. We all want our students to succeed.

If your student is studying remotely this semester, they don’t have access to the usual on-campus ways of finding support and contacting professors. But even those students who are on campus may find restricted in-person contact with services and faculty.

#025 – College Parenting Up Close: When Your Student Lives at Home

September 2, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

Your college student may be living at home out of choice or out of necessity. Whether they are taking fully online classes or commuting to campus, your role as a college parent changes and will require some new thinking and communication skills. In this episode Vicki and Lynn discuss some of the problems students living home may encounter and how to support your student in their transition. As you and your student continually re-evaluate your living situation and roles, you have the opportunity to establish lasting and rewarding ways of being together as adults.

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College Parent News and Views

August 31, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

We invite you to read some of the articles suggested below – and to let us know what you think of some of the ideas included here.

Book Review – The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook

August 25, 2020August 24, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students. There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years. We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. Visit our Resources page for suggestions of important books for college parents and their students.

The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook is the reference book you want to send with your student to college, and it is one which they will use often. Author Dr. Jill Grimes moves from head (hangovers and headaches) through the brain (anxiety and alcohol poisoning) on to eyes, ears, neck and on to chest, stomach (food poisoning, and constipation) to back, extremities, and skin (burns, bites, stings and tattoos). In other words, this is a head-to-toe compilation of the questions that students will face about their health and potential injuries.

The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook is not only a helpful resource, it is approachable rather than overwhelming, and written in a way that students will read it. Most items begin with a “what if” that describes the problem, followed by “what most likely happened” and then a clear explanation in “what’s going on?” Only then is there a description of potential “treatment” and a suggestion of “when to head to your doctor.” Finally, a “worst case scenario” and tips for preventing the problem.

#024 – College Student Health – An Interview with Dr. Jill Grimes

September 17, 2020August 19, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

A major concern for almost everyone who has a child in college this fall is their student’s health in the midst of COVID-19. Whether your student is going to be on campus or learning remotely, there are some basic preventive practices that all students should know. In this episode, Lynn and Vicki talk with Dr. Jill Grimes, author of The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook, and specialist in college student health. Dr. Grimes shares valuable information, tips, and strategies about what to do and not to do to avoid getting sick. She also shares personal experiences and advice about common college student health questions, as well as essential tips for parents putting together that all-important college dorm first aid kit. Parents will feel informed and reassured after listening to Dr. Grimes’ frank discussion.

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Lost in Transition: In the Midst of COVID Worries Students Still Need to Adjust

August 10, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

This fall semester will be like no other. For students just beginning their college career, the world looks very different. Some will be beginning college from home, learning remotely. Some will be learning through a hybrid model, partially online and partially in the classroom. Still others will experience a somewhat altered Move-in Day and take up residence in a dorm room to take their courses in a classroom with a professor standing in front of them.

Definitely not your typical freshman experience.

This year, we’re all worried about COVID-19 and its effects on our students. If students will be at home, we worry about isolation and how much they’ll actually be able to learn. If students will be on campus, we worry about how the virus spreads, and whether students will socially distance and remember to wear their masks. We worry about what will happen if the campus has an outbreak or our student gets sick.

Amid all of this worry about the virus, we may overlook all of the usual transition issues that college freshmen might experience.

#023 – Parental Anxiety: It’s Time to Look at Ourselves (instead of our college student)

August 5, 2020 by Vicki Nelson

Anxiety is a part of our DNA as parents. It is normal and natural, but we have a responsibility to honestly look at it. We need to become aware of how our anxiety can affect our students, and discover strategies for all of us to find relief. In this episode, Lynn and Vicki begin by looking at some of the unintended messages we may be sending to our students when we are tempted to step in too quickly to fix their problems. This episode focuses on creative strategies for dealing with parental anxiety so that you can be better prepared to support your student.

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