By George Guzman

Oftentimes, high school students find themselves yearning for the day they are free from their family’s watchful eyes and can do whatever they please, whenever they want to. College students make sure to take advantage of this freedom, while also having their family around for as long as they can before they officially have to become full-fledged adults.

This phase in the lives of college students is called “adulting,” in which us college kids have to do basically everything on our own, but we still have some support from our parents. This support can be financial, emotional, both, or neither.

Every family is different, and dynamics change whenever your student goes off to college. Make sure to let your students know that you are still there for them once they’re off on their own because all students make mistakes in college, and knowing that someone will support them and understand those mistakes. Communication will be more sparse throughout your student’s time in college, but just remember, these four years in college will teach them more about themselves than at any other point in their lives.

College is a weird time for everyone, but being able to understand this and let your student grow through the experience is all a family can do during this time.