Parent Handbook
Book Recommendations
Letting Go: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding the College Years
Karen L. Coburn and Madge L. Treeger, 2009 (Fifth Edition)
ISBN: 0-06-052126-0
Letting go is never easy. Whether it’s the first day of kindergarten or the first day of college, families experience tremendous changes. New responsibilities, new schedules and new relationships can often be daunting and overwhelming to both students and parents.
This best-selling guide, based on real life experiences and recommended by colleges and universities around the country, offers compassionate, practical and up-to-the-minute information to help parents with the challenging adjustments of the college years. Important topics covered in Letting Go include:
- When should parents encourage independence? When should they intervene?
- What issues of identity and intimacy await students?
- What are normal feelings of disorientation and loneliness for students – and their parents?
- What is different about today’s college environment?
- What new concerns about safety, health and wellness or stress will affect incoming classes?
These important issues and more are addressed with wise advice and time-tested counsel in Letting Go— a realistic and reassuring source for meeting the challenges ahead from the senior year in high school through college graduation.
You’re On Your Own (But I’m Here if You Need Me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years
Marjorie B. Savage, 2003
ISBN: 0-7432-2912-6
Parents whose children are away at college have a difficult tightrope to walk: they naturally want to stay connected to their student, yet they also need to let go. What’s more, college students often send mixed messages: they crave space, but they rely on their parents’ advice and assistance. Not surprisingly, it’s hard to know when it’s appropriate to get involved in your child’s life and when it’s better to back off.
You’re On Your Own (But I’m Here If You Need Me) helps parents identify the boundaries between necessary
involvement and respect for their student’s independence. Marjorie Savage, who, as a parent herself, empathizes with moms and dads, but who, as a student services professional, understands young adults, offers advice on wide-ranging issues, including:
- How to cope with your family’s mood changes in the months before move-in day on campus.
- Why students complain about the food but still manage to gain 15 pounds their first year.
- How to teach basic financial responsibility, including the handling of credit cards and academic expenses.
- When parental intervention is critical.
With anecdotes and suggestions from experienced parents and college staffs nationwide, the strategies and tips provided throughout will help you create a loving, supportive partnership responsive to the needs of both you
and your student.
