The Parent's Checklist for the College Move

After all the necessary arrangements have been made, the day is fast approaching for the college freshman to move away, and while everything that's moving out with them has been established, there are other last minute things still yet to do. A final checklist of items that need addressing should include the following.

Establish Health Insurance

After your child completes high school, your family plan might change. Make certain that insurance doesn't lapse. It may be better to get health coverage through the college or university.

Contents Insurance Coverage

Your homeowner's policy might cover the student's content in the dorm room, but that should not be automatically assumed. If at some point your child moves off campus, renter's insurance is an important consideration. Electronics and other contents of value can disappear quickly in a college environment.

Cell Package - Keeping the Communication Lines Open

Depending on how far away the college is from home, the current calling plan on the cell phone might need updating for the new student. If changes are made to the plan personally at a local carrier, the student should visit the service representative to hear about how the plan works before leaving home.

If a plan can be established for a reasonable amount, it is much better to have unlimited talk minutes and texting to avoid overruns. The student should know how to check available minutes if the plan is limited.

Automobile Insurance

Your auto policy might make provisions for the use of the car while the student is attending school, especially if they will not be driving while on campus. If it is possible to get prorated or part time insurance because your child won't be a full time driver, it can result in substantial savings.

Credit Cards

With great power comes a great deal of foolish charges for the student who doesn't understand the importance of restraint. Every parent who gives a child a credit card has to make it perfectly clear what it can and can't be used for, along with how much can be charged on a monthly basis.

Fill Out a Health Care Proxy

You may be able to get a form online or from your doctor to have in case something happens to your child medically. You will need something like this before doctors or health care providers will speak to you about your child who is over 18 years old. Many times the school will make arrangements for this document.

Keep Records of Everything

Take everything in the student's wallet and make copies so that replacements can be made should anything become lost. Credit and debit card numbers need to be on file for cancellation quickly should it be necessary.

Lines of Communication with the New College Student

When all the preparations have been completed, moving has been accomplished, and the child has left for their first year of higher education, it soon settles in that your son or daughter won't be at the table each night and won't have to be called to get up in the morning. The fact is that nothing about the relationship with them will ever be the same again.

The hardest part of the initial separation between parent and college student is establishing lines of communication. For every parent-child relationship the conditions are different, but it is always important to have a feel for balancing contact from the parents' side. This avoids the brand of the "helicopter parent" and establishes a healthy relationship with the child.

Know Who's in Charge

A wise parent will be concerned with establishing communication with other people who will be instrumental in the further education of their child. Information regarding who these people are is often a part of the information received from the college. However, it is always good to confer with an advisor to come up with a contact list for emergencies or when the student is unexpectedly unavailable.

An important thing to remember is to only find out the ground rules, not continually call the contacts. Once you have a reasonable idea of what calls to make, don't persist unless it is absolutely necessary.

Who Calls First?

It is also a good rule to allow the student to make the first call after leaving for college to show trust and give him or her time to settle into new surroundings. It can be hard waiting by the phone and very tempting to break the rule if the student seems remiss in calling. If the student has instructions to call by a certain time, a parent should make a call if that does not occur.

How a parent reacts to the comments of the child away at school has much to do with keeping the line of trust secure. The parent who constantly attempts to direct a child is usually the one that drives the student further away than just the physical miles. Making scattered suggestions instead of continual demands maintains a healthier relationship.

Finally, having routine times to call and visit on the phone is a good way to keep the family connection, but even that should not be so structured that the parent seems like the warden. Allowing the student to take the lead in instigating conversation shows confidence in their decision-making abilities.

Building the College Student

A family should function as a unit, but sadly, many only exist as individuals with entirely different lives, living under one roof. Parents are expected to raise children to be responsible adults, not to pamper or cuddle them without furnishing any direction.

The real determining factor of a prepared college student revolves around control and freedom.

How well your child performs and adjusts to campus life has much to do with their life and upbringing in the years prior to that time, and it is essential to start early when preparing a youngster to grow into a responsible and successful adult.

Begin Teaching at a Young Age

From an early age, children should be taught that life is made up of times of both responsibility and fun. The understanding of the balance should begin no later than when a child begins to attend kindergarten. The biggest mistake a parent can make is to believe that because a child is small, they are not old enough to begin to learn responsibility.

Despite what some parents might believe, children who are directed to do chores and have regular activities to attribute to the family unit are much better adjusted and more prepared to meet the responsibilities and challenges they will encounter throughout life. It is also impossible for an individual to appreciate play time if they have never had any exposure to work time.

A Balanced Individual Makes a Better College Student

Children who learn the facts about work early give the least problems later, and they also typically work harder in school. When a child has the proper work/play balance in place, life as a parent becomes less stressful, and more time can be devoted to finding the best opportunities for the child.

Preparing a teen for college begins at the start of the structured education program, not in their junior or senior year of high school. Here are some tips about how better to create a responsible college student starting in the young years.

1. When teaching a child responsibility, begin with tasks that are easy but necessary. Brushing teeth, combing hair, dressing, and other simple tasks are the beginning of larger and more complicated tasks to come.

2. Always suit the chores and responsibilities to the age of the child. A job too complicated for the individual will result in a sense of failure and a negative attitude regarding the assignment of future tasks.

3. Praise them for a job well done, but constructively correct them regarding any inadequacies. A job that offers no reward even when done well can be a disappointment to a youngster, and reward does not necessarily have to be monetary.

4. Relate work at school with work at home to indicate that they are both important to the betterment of the child.

5. Make sure there is enough time for recreation and give as much freedom in that capacity as is reasonable in conjunction with other responsibilities such as homework and studying.

Picture a child even at the younger ages as an intelligent human being who has reasoning and the ability to make decisions. Remember that learning comes incrementally and requires loosening of the reins throughout the formative years.

When that young person is ready to leave home for college, it matters not that you still see the small child, as long as you have created the responsible adult prepared for the challenges and tasks that come with campus life.