Mar 01 2008
4 Things Parents Need To Talk To Their Kids About Before College
If you have a teen or teens in high school who are thinking about going to college you really need to have some discussions with them about the following subjects. At least one of these topics will be somewhat uncomfortable for you but you owe it to yourself and your teen to talk to them about it. These are real issues and they won’t go away by not talking about them, and in fact they could be far worse.
Where to Go/What To Study
The first discussion you should have with teen is to find out where they would like to go to school. Do they want to stay in the same city? Same state? Same country? Many parents often assume that their teens will opt to stay close to home, only to find that their teen had their heart set on studying abroad.
Similarly, you should also talk about what they would like to study. Many teens are unsure about what they want to study at school. If that is the case help them by asking them what future career they would like to have. Then work back from there. Don’t be surprised though if your teen’s idea of where and what to study are different than what you thought.
For many parents this can be the most difficult topic to discuss. You and your teen may have very different ideas about who is going to pay for what. It comes to a big surprise to many teens that their parents expect they to pay for part of their own school costs when they have had everything paid for up until now. Be very clear on who is going to pay for separate things and stick with it. Trust me this will save you many arguments later on if you figure it out now.
Drinking/Drugs
Let’s face it, most teens when they go away to college will be exposed to alcohol. Think back to when you were in college, I am sure for most you there was drinking going on. They may also be exposed to drugs, which many parents find worrying. You should fully explain the risks and dangers of drinking/doing drugs as well as why many people do it. And, if you have done a good job educating them, your teen will generally make good decisions.
Sex
Finally, we come to sex. Like with drinking and drugs you should fully educated your teen on the risks and the reasons why people choose to have sex. Your teen is becoming an adult an as such they will make their own decisions. Your job is to help them make the best decisions, but you can’t try and control their lives for them. This strategy most often backfires and results in worse behavior than if you had just let them make up their own minds.
My advice is to have these conversations sooner rather than later. You will save yourself a lot of heartache if you do. Moreover, if you do talk about these things with your teen it will show them that you care about their wellbeing. I know it can be difficult but as I said at the start these issues aren’t going to be going away anytime soon.
Ian Wright is a recent college graduate so he know about the costs and expenses of going away to school. He currently has a site about online education and where you can read about getting an Accredited Online College Degree. He has also written many other articles which you can view at: http://www.online-college-degree-review.com.
Tags: college, parenting, teenager, teens
Related Posts
No responses yet