How to Help Parents of College Freshmen Let Go

So your college freshman is off to school, and here you are worrying about whether or not he is eating right, exercising, broke, wearing a coat, taking cold medicine - stop! Stop the madness, get off that hamster wheel, and realize it is time to let go. You are not even a mourning empty nester; you are more concerned that your child may lack some common comfort or necessity. This article will provide a few tips to help parents of college freshmen let go and cope with having a new young independent adult.

Recognize that your child is in college now and if you haven't in the past few years, now is the time to let them find out who they really are. Let them pick the type of clothes that are comfortable and fit the college scene and the weather of the area they are going to school in. Don't try to dictate what they should wear. Respect the choices of clothes as long as they are not inappropriate in an obscene way. You never know, you may have an artist on your hands in which case, your student may be working through some creative issues.

As quickly as you let go of one worry, you create another. This is very common of parents of college freshmen, but it is time to let go. What if they need me? They will call. What if they get hungry? A young adult is not going to starve him or herself. Trust me. What you can do to ease your mind, and let go of the control of the situation is to see to it that the student's meal card is paid for and that it is valid for 7 days a week. Chances are they won't use it all the time, but it is a good back up and you can be comfortable in knowing they don't have to starve unless they want to.