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Jayda Murray Senior Year, Class of 2023 Preparing for college can be an exciting yet overwhelming experience for parents and teenagers. Last year, our family drove over 11 hours to move my daughter into her dorm room for her first year. As a mother, I was going over last-minute things for her to remember and review--but once we packed up and said “Goodbye,” I knew Jayda would have to put the information to practice that she genuinely believed was necessary. As your teenager transitions from high school to college senior year of high school, parents should discuss several important topics with their child to ensure a smooth transition and a successful college experience. Photo by Keira Burton #10 Budgeting & Financial Responsibility One of the most critical areas to focus on is budgeting and financial responsibility. Before your young adult leaves home, ensure they have some experience budgeting. Teach your teenager how to manage (save, invest, donate, spend) their money and create a budget that works for them. Discuss the importance of saving and the potential consequences of overspending. Encourage them to seek financial aid and scholarships to help offset the cost of tuition and other expenses. Ensure they have the skills to spend scholarships, grant money, and any loans acquired properly. Taking a Personal Finance class and reading books on Money Management will help them gain these important life skills. Parents will also want to communicate what they can expect from you financially while they are in college. What will you pay for? Meals and Housing? Books? Travel to and from home? Will you send a monthly stipend? Also, discuss what you can actually afford financially when it comes to paying for school. Will your student need a part-time or full-time job to cover college? Discuss your willingness to take out a Parent Loan and how much. Communicate if your student will be expected to take out loans to pay for college. For more information, check out this article on Article on College Student Spending Photo by Karolina Grabowska #9 Time Management and Organizational Skills Time management and organizational skills are also essential for college success. Encourage teenagers to develop a schedule to balance their academic and social lives. Discuss strategies for prioritizing tasks and managing their workload. Provide them with resources and tools, such as a planner or calendar, to help them stay organized. My teens love using tools like Google Calendar, Notion, and a traditional whiteboard to stay on track. For those teens who need more help with their Executive Skills, search for a workshop or program that can teach these vital skills. Photo by MART PRODUCTION #8 Health, Drugs & Sex Awareness Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is another critical topic to address. Teach your teenager the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise. Encourage them to make healthy choices and provide them with resources, such as information about campus fitness centers and healthy dining options. My daughter got in exercise walking to and from classes and through the Physical Education classes on campus. She loved the pilates class she took and was proud of the way she strengthened her body. Help them create the habit of taking vitamins, drinking water, and taking any medications without your constant reminder. I ensured Jayda had a little pharmacy for the common cold, flu, covid, menstrual cramps, sore throat, etc. We of course addressed sexual choices, birth control, and sexually transmitted diseases. It is our desire that our daughter waits until marriage before having sex, but she will make her own choice. Whatever she decides, as her parents, we want her to know how to stay as safe as possible. In addition to their sexual and physical health, talk with your teen about the common types of drug use in college. I had these conversations with my daughter, and still, she was surprised at the number of college students who take drugs to have fun and some to function. “Mom, I think these kids are on drugs,” she whispered to me on the phone after the first week of school. I replied, “Yes, Jayda, they are on drugs.” “But Mom, some are planning to try even harder drugs.” That‘s when I sent her the videos of kids dying of fentanyl on college campuses. I wanted to warn her and help give her information if she was ever in a situation where she needed help in the case of an overdose. Hidden Epidemic: US fentanyl crisis worsens | Nightline Other videos I recommend for parent's to watch: What is fentanyl? KSAT Explainshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpYcOznq0d8 One Pill: Fighting Fentanyl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY57P-vKovY Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi #7 Personal Safety Personal safety and security measures are also crucial for college students. Last year I was hyper-aware of the murders, shootings, missing students, and common crimes on campus nationwide. Instead of worrying, please take steps to discuss ways to stay safe on campus and in their living environment. Most schools publicly rate their campus safety level. This is vital information to consider when selecting a school. In addition, many schools have safety orientations for incoming students, so ensure your child is equipped and aware of some safety challenges and sign them up. Consider enrolling your daughters, in particular, in a self-defense class--the more prepared, the better! Talk about the pros and cons of leaving their dorm rooms open. Teach them about the dangers of alcohol and drug use and how to protect themselves from sexual assault and other crimes that happen when drugs are involved. Safety issues can also arise with roommates. If your teen feels unsafe in their room, ensure they are confident to talk with the Resident Director on steps to change rooms and/or roommates. Also, cover safety tips when using Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft. Here is a great article to read. Like thousands of other families, my teens often utilize Rideshare companies, and I ensure I can track every ride. The ride information gets sent to my phone, and I can follow each pick-up and drop-off. In addition, our family utilizes Life 360App, which tracks everyone's location via the cellphone. This was particularly helpful because I could see her exact whereabouts when Jayda traveled to Las Vegas and Washington D.C. during her first semester. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch #6 Academic Strategies for Success Discuss academic expectations and strategies for success. I knew Jayda would need tutors for her math classes even before school started. Encourage your young adult to use educational resources like on-site or online tutoring and study groups. Discuss the importance of attending classes and participating in class discussions. Help them develop effective study habits and time management skills. If they need to beef up their writing or math skills, enroll them in a summer class or hire a tutor before leaving for college. A great affordable place to find tutors is Preply.com. Using this link, you can get 70% off your first lesson! Also check out this list of free writing classes. Let your child know that you want them to have fun but expect them to give their best efforts to succeed in school. As a mother of a high-performing student in a challenging major, other parents and college advisors warned me that Jayda might fail some of her classes but to keep encouraging her and never give up on her. They were right. She did fail some classes while thriving in others. As her parents, we chose the role of cheerleader and counselor, helping her identify the specific mistakes and lessons learned from each. She knew that no matter what grades she received we would provide the support she needed to learn from her mistakes and move forward. Click Here for Part 2: 10 Conversations Parents Need to Have With Their Kids Before College Begins
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Murray Homeschool AcademyI have been a homeschool educator since 2008. Here I blog about our educational experience and hope you can learn something from our journey. Archives
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