What Parents Can Do

Support from home is important.
Students find calls, packages, emails, etc. critical in helping them stay in touch with family and friends. Your openness, as a parent, talking with your son about the ups and downs of college life helps him to adjust to the university/college environment.

Encourage your son to take responsibility for his actions.
Making choices and living with the consequences, whether good or bad, can be empowering. Mistakes can be one of our greatest learning tools.

Remind your son to take charge of his health, sleep and nutrition.
Students who do not set limits risk exhaustion and illness often resulting in poor grades.

Encourage your son to balance his social and academic life.
Many students mistakenly think that college will be the same as high school academically. Initially, less attention paid to academics can create a crisis mid-semester as students receive disappointing grades.

Prepare your son for actual versus assumed college “norms.”
Students consistently misperceive the norms on a college or university campus. Of those who drink, the majority have four or fewer drinks. Most do not drink heavily.

Encourage socializing without alcohol.
Meeting people can be done in a variety of ways. Clubs and organizations, as well as the recreation center, offer plenty of opportunities to meet people and to learn something new.