Approaching the empty nest? It won’t be long before those seniors will be leaving for college and you will find yourself with some free time. How will you fill it? Will you notice their absence? Of course you will! This is a great time to reconnect with yourself and take advantage of some ME time.
Here are seven suggestions you’re sure to love.
Continue reading Empty Nest? Try These Suggestions!
Sending your child off to college is a milestone filled with pride and excitement, but it can also be a time of significant emotional upheaval for parents. The transition from having your child at home to seeing them move away to pursue higher education can be challenging.
Here are some common struggles parents face during this period and tips on how to navigate them.
Continue reading When Your Child Heads to College
January 2024 is waving goodbye and I thought it would be fun to take a look at the top 5 articles (the ones with the most views and engagement) from 2023.
If you missed any of these, now’s your chance!
Continue reading Top 5 Articles of 2023
Once your child decides they want to move cross-country for college, a mix of emotions arise: pride, dread, excitement – perhaps even the urge for something strong like coffee (or maybe stronger!). Don’t fret though; we are here to help guide this new chapter with ease and possibly even bring smiles or laughter along the way!
Continue reading Parent Survival Guide for Cross-Country College Moves
Graduation is upon us and that means the future (college future) for many, lies ahead. While it’s tempting to take the summer off, and you want to spend as much time with your future college student as possible,
Preparing for a semester is a key part to ensure academic success!
College students find themselves juggling classes, homework, work, parties, clubs, organizations, dates, volunteering, and everything in between. With only 24 hours in the day, and only one mind to juggle it all, this can be a lot to manage.
Continue reading Summer To-Do List for New College Parents
May Decision Day has come and gone. Students have made those final decisions and committed to college in the fall. After all the stress of senior year and some of the conflict that arose within families, you can rest easy the hard work is done and it’s smooth sailing ahead.
But is it? Your student and you have worked hard for this day and you should certainly enjoy the accomplishment. Your student did the work and was accepted to college. You did the work and prepared your student for that next phase in their life: adulthood. You have been planning for this day ever since they entered high school. You looked forward to the day when they would finally leave your nest and go out on their own. But you probably weren’t expecting so many mixed feelings.
Continue reading The Joy and Angst of Decision Day
While you may be happy that your child has chosen to attend college, you might also be having a lot of mixed feelings about them moving out and away. You must be prepared for their departure the best you can so that it is a smooth transition for you and them.
The good news is that once you know they’ve been accepted into a college and will be attending a particular school, you’ll have some time together before they head out. Below are some things you should do before your child leaves for college that will help you two grow a stronger bond before this major life change takes place.
Continue reading Pre-College Bucket List for FamiliesWhen I come across a product that can help parents of college students, I’m happy to share it with my readers. For parents whose students will be heading off to college this fall, this product will you stay in touch and show “love” for your students.
Do you have a student entering college for the first time? How about a student returning to school? Either way, they’ll be working hard and missing home. For those that are leaving home for the first time, being away will be exciting and scary. They will be trying to keep up with their work, while at the same time balancing a new social dynamic. Thoughts of home will be a safe haven from the hectic schedule they will now be keeping. For those students who are returning, they will be trying to maintain the school lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to. However, they too will look to reminders of home for solace when things get a little too crazy.
While it’s common for parents to send their students care packages to help them stay fed, most of these care packages are filled with junk food. Processed, unhealthy junk food. Why not give them a true reminder of home each month by ordering them a subscription to A Taste of Home Cake Crate by Kentastic Cakes? A Taste of Home Cake Crate is a monthly subscription of homemade, from scratch baked goods that are shipped directly to their door(or school Mailroom) each month. All items within A Taste of Home Cake Crate are created from scratch using only fresh ingredients. Nothing is processed and everything tastes AMAZING!!
A Taste of Home Cake Crate can be ordered by the month or in longer durations at a discounted price. We also offer our COLLEGE PLAN, which is specifically meant for your student and follows a typical school year. With the COLLEGE PLAN, your student will receive a Cake Crate from September through November and from January through May. They will NOT receive a Cake Crate in the month of December, as most students go home for the holidays. Crates are shipped on or around the 20th of each month, with the exception of May. May crates will be shipped the 1st week of the month to be sure your student receives it before leaving school for the summer. We also offer a First Semester and Second Semester Plan. A NUT FREE option is also available.
Each month, your student will receive:
Kentastic Cakes has been creating beautiful, delicious custom cakes since 2012. In addition to weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and birthdays, Kentastic Cakes has been enjoyed at high profile events, such as the Boston Strong Benefit Concert after the marathon bombings and the Vans Warped Tour 20th Anniversary BBQ. Our cakes have been eaten by members of NKOTB, Aerosmith, celebrity chef Ming Tsai and more. We’ve even made cake pops for legendary rock band, Motley Crue on their Farewell Tour.
A Taste of Home Cake Crate just celebrated its 1 Year Anniversary and is excited to send your hard working student awesome treats each month. Please visit mycakecrate.com for more detailed information and pricing, as well as some FAQs at our College Plan page.
Orders received by July 1, 2020 will save, as prices will increase on July 1. Save even more by using Code: COLLEGE to save an additional 5% off your order.
As we always say, “Just because they can’t be at home, doesn’t mean you can’t send them A Taste of Home.”
PLEASE SHARE!
These have certainly been times of upheaval. Students were told to finish the year at home. Parents scrambled to help their teens adjust. Graduations were cancelled and even college plans are uncertain. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for the day when they will leave for college.
It seems like only yesterday you are dropping your child off at their first class, and they are upset about leaving you. But now your child has decided to go off to college and will be leaving you without so much as a wave before long. But this is a wonderful testament to the job you have done as a parent up to now, and it’s hard to forget just how much you have done for them, and How they are so successful already from your support and their hard work. There are a few things you can do to make sure that you have prepared yourself for the big day, and that you don’t end up too upset when it happens. Our children taking the plunge and becoming independent is something special, and something to be proud of. So what can you do to prepare yourself for this transition?
Be proud of your child’s achievements. Sharing this with the world and your family and friends is important, and showing your child that you are proud of them will do great things for their confidence. It isn’t always about academic achievements of course, but it does show a certain level of resilience and confidence, as well as a hard-working nature to gain a place in a college. Making sure that you don’t forget the role you have played in getting into this point, and congratulating yourself for the great support you have given your child along the way, is important. So never feel as though you are going too far by showing your pride in your children.
Making sure that all of the practicalities such as student accommodation and the small details are covered when it comes to preparing your child for college, will give you a sense of confidence that everything is taken care of. You can, of course, continue to support your child once they have left for college, and many people do send care packages on a regular basis. But making sure that your child knows where they are going, what they are doing, and they have the support there if they need it, will help you relax and feel much better about the whole situation.
Being there when your child needs you, or even when they don’t, is all we can do. Sometimes they will act as though they don’t need any support whatsoever, and this may be true for many grown-up children spreading their wings, and if we have done our jobs correctly then they really should be quite independent anyway, but just being ready to take a call, or be there when they need you, it’s going to be the most important job you can do when your child is going off to college. Being there is our number one role once all the basics of parenting are done, we teach them everything we can to a certain age, And then must take a step back to just support when needed. You will find that even the most independent college children will feel as though they have got everything under control, but we can always be there ready to catch them if they fall.
Elation! That is the normal parental reaction when your child first received their acceptance email for college. Although, even while they are running around the house cheering, a parent’s thoughts can turn to worry. Of course, it is a parent’s lot to protect their child, and that does mean some worry along the way. However, being stressed before they have even left is only going to make it harder on everybody involved, including your kid. Luckily, there are some strategies you can use to keep parental stress to a minimum when your kids go off to college. Something that can ensure the whole process is easier on you as well as your child. Read on to find out what they are.
Money is often a prime concern when it’s time to send your child off to study for a degree. It fact, it can be difficult for all parties involved if families cannot provide tuition and living costs needed. Of course, with many colleges charging anything up to $30,000 for a single year, few families have enough to cover the entire cost of their child’s education.
There are a few ways to combat this, though. One, in particular, is shopping around for the best rate on student loans. In fact, it is entirely possible to use multiple loan providers for smaller amounts that total the sum needed. A strategy that can help to make a substantial saving overall. Something that, in turn, can relieve some of the stress on parents to provide all of the funding for their child’s higher education.
Next, you can really help to minimize any stress for yourself as a parent by making your child has the safest accommodation possible. After all, it is well known there is a culture of both theft and assault in such institutions. One that you will want to do your best to protect them from.
Of course, when they have to share a room on campus, protecting them can be difficult. Although, finding your child a space to live like this student accommodation studio can help to solve this puzzle. The reason being that they can happily, and affordable live alone and have the security of CCTV and security lockable rooms as well. Something that will not only make them feel safer when they are home alone but can seriously reduce any worry for parents as well.
Of course, sourcing the money they need for college is only one half of the coin. In fact, if you want to reduce your stress as a parent in this situation, you must teach your child how to budget as well.
After all, if they can manage their own finances at college competently, the likelihood of you being asking to bail them out economically becomes a lot less. Something that can significantly reduce the amount of worry and stress you experience while they are away studying for their degree.