Is Your Student A Commuter Student?

If your student will still be living with you at home, you are facing an equally difficult transition as your student learns to manage a new academic and social life, while their home life might still feel the same. Here are a few tips on how you can make that change a bit more manageable (for both of you):

•   Renegotiate the rules. Consider changing the house rules to better reflect your student’s new found responsibilities as a college students. This can include making curfews later (or removing them), reorganizing driving privileges or anything that might remind your student (and you) that they are closer to adulthood. You don’t need to do away with everything (and remind your student: residence halls have rules too), but by changing things a bit you’ll be sending the clear message that things have changed for the more mature.

•   Foster their independence. Relaxed rules come with more personal responsibility. You can support that change by letting your student take care of themselves a bit more. Don’t wake them up for class or pack a lunch – let them learn to take care of these life skills on their own. Try and impress that they are transitioning to be more like adult roommates than teenagers by letting them take more ownership of their responsibilities.

•   Encourage them to stay on campus. It can be tempting to head out of the South Loop straight after class for the comforts of home, but it’s important your student makes an effort to participate in the extra-curricular life of the college. Push them to join a student org or two, make sure they do some studying on campus and don’t let them skip all the events going on. Don’t let your student sit around the house!