Dear Parents, 8/28/19
If you have recently sent your child off to college or will soon, please read this most informative article in the WSJ (8/24-25/19) by Drs. Anthony Rostain & Janet Hibbs, Is Your Child Emotionally Ready for College?
As a grandparent who has three grandchildren in college and as an author of three parenting books, five critical pieces of information are worth noting but I urge you to read the entire article.
- “Students who haven’t faced adversity are usually the least prepared for it.”
- “Self -restraint is one of the best ways to avoid derailing a college career.”
- A parent’s” job is to promote true independence, partly by volunteering to reduce their control.”
- “One of the most important implications of an 18th birthday is that parents no longer have legal authority over a student as a patient. Federal privacy laws govern a college student’s medical and mental health treatment and educational records.”
- “Healthy attitudes and better coping skills can make these sometimes stressful years the best of their young lives.”
Summary
There is so much more to this article that parents will appreciate knowing. I have written often about the parent’s role as first teachers and role models and that the “quality of the family” is the best determiner of a child’s success in school and life. Love them unconditionally but don’t coddle them. Kids need to learn from their mistakes, experience adversity, understand sacrifice, be part of a team, and know that they will not receive everything they want.
Sincerely,
James L. Casale