College Parent Central celebrated its first birthday on April 1, 2010.  We’ve reached a milestone.  Launching on April Fool’s Day in 2009 seemed somehow appropriate since we were not sure what to expect.  We’re pleased to know that, in the past year, so many people have found the information here at College Parent Central helpful.

We believed a year ago, and we continue to believe even more firmly today, that parents have an important place in the college experience of their sons and daughters, but that many parents may need to learn how to be most helpful.  We believe that the more that parents understand about the college experience the more supportive they can be.

Our purpose

The five basic principles with which we began College Parent Central continue to drive us a year later.  Quite simply, they are the following:

• We believe that parents can be important partners in their child’s education from pre-school through college.
• We believe that most parents want to be involved in their child’s college experience.
• We believe that parents do have a place in their child’s college experience.
• We believe that many parents don’t know how to be involved in their child’s college experience.
• We believe that many parents don’t understand today’s college experience. (Those of us who attended college ourselves may need to learn how the college experience has changed in the twenty-first century.)

We continue to hope that we can help parents understand the college experience and how they can best be involved in order to be partners with both their student and the college, in order to help their student succeed.

Most popular posts

As we look back over the year, it is interesting to see the posts that have been most popular — perhaps because the information is most needed.  Here are the seven posts that have been read most during the past year.

• What to Do If Your Student Is Academically Dismissed from College
• What Can My College Student Do During Winter Break?
• Should My College Student Have a Car on Campus?
• Be Prepared for the ”Meltdown” Phone Call from Your College Freshman
• What To Do If Your College Student Is On Academic Probation
• What to Expect From Your College Student’s First Semester Grades
• Help! My College Student Wants to Drop Out of College

Favorites

It is literally impossible to choose favorite posts.  Each post was carefully written to provide information, answer an important question that many parents have, or give a new perspective on an issue. We’ve tried to cover topics which include everything from summer preparations, scheduling, college lingo, transfer options, choosing a major and study abroad. We hope we’ve offered lots of practical advice.

An important theme that has emerged over the year, however, is the importance of the relationship between parents and students in helping students be most successful.  In reflecting on a year’s worth of posts, this theme seems to be foundational to all of the practical advice.  So, if we had to choose some favorite posts, they would definitely include the following:

• Yes, You’re a College Parent, But Who Is This College Student?
• Yes, You’re a College Parent, But What Exactly Does That Mean?
• Your Role as a College Parent: Sideline Coach
• Twelve Things You Can Do to Help You Listen to Your College Student
• Five Conversations Parents and College Students Should Have Before the First Year of College
• Five More Conversation Starters for Parents and Students Before the First Year of College
• Affirming ”Helicopter Parents”: How to Hover Constructively
• Helping Your College Student Avoid ”How Do I Tell My Parents?” Fears
• How Parents Can Help College Students Value Their Mistakes
• Ten Parental Habits That Can Negatively Affect Your College Student
• Communicating With Your College Student: Are You Listening?

We hope that you will continue to find College Parent Central a place which will validate your role in your child’s college experience. We hope that you will find information, support, and a celebration of the amazing experience of having a child in college. It can be an incredible journey for your child — and for you.