{"id":1622,"date":"2022-10-26T16:03:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T20:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/news\/?p=1622"},"modified":"2023-04-06T11:03:34","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T15:03:34","slug":"ways-to-support-your-college-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/news\/ways-to-support-your-college-student\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Support Your First-Year College Student"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the saying goes, “college is the best four years of your life.”<\/p>\n

For many of us, they were the best years of our early adult lives. But, in remembering the good times, we may have also forgotten how lonely and isolating those first few weeks and months of college can feel, and how normal those feelings of sadness are for a first-year college student.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019ve experienced college yourself, sent an older child through school, or you\u2019re a first-time college parent<\/a>, today\u2019s landscape makes the college experience unique to this generation of students. Attending college in the age of social media and in a post-Covid world has created a first-year experience unlike that which any of us have gone through before.<\/p>\n

College is an exciting and sometimes scary time in your child\u2019s life. The initial shock of leaving for college<\/a>, whether entering new classes or moving to a new environment, can be overwhelming for incoming first-year students. Your support and encouragement are crucial to your child overcoming the initial stress of college life and getting to the good part. To ease this transition for everyone, we\u2019re exploring five ways you can help and support your first-year college student.<\/p>\n

1. Stop Calling and Texting Them\u2026So Often.<\/h2>\n

While this advice seems counterintuitive, we suggest you give your child some space during those first few weeks and months of college. Regular communication can help your child maintain a sense of stability and safety, but when they rely on you to help them make small everyday decisions, they don\u2019t build the necessary skills and confidence to make more consequential decisions for themselves.<\/p>\n

Giving your child space to learn their way around campus, figure out what time meals are served, and navigate roommate issues on their own is important to building their independence as young adults.<\/p>\n

According to Sandra Aamodt, neuroscientist and author of the book, \u201cWelcome to Your Child\u2019s Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College,\u201d the part of your child\u2019s brain that helps them plan and organize their behavior is still developing at 17, 18, and 19 when they are entering college. During this time, they should be practicing those skills by making decisions on their own that you would previously help them make.<\/p>\n

The problems and challenges students face at college are lessons in #adulting<\/strong> that your child should gradually begin to address on their own.<\/p>\n

While you and your child explore this newfound independence, there are a few ways you can and should support your student.<\/p>\n