|
By
sending your child to college, you probably realize
that their life is going to change. You may be asking
yourself if they will be homesick, if they will make
friends, if they will succeed academically, and if
they
will change or be different as a result of this experience.
The truth is that their life will change and so will
yours. There are many unknowns for you and your child
at this time. Your child is moving from adolescence
to adulthood, and this is/will be a challenging time
for both of you. Some of your hopes and dreams may
go
unrealized, and others may be surpassed. The challenges
that your son or daughter will face will help them
to
broaden their world of experience. To meet these challenges
will be their "job" for the next few years.
This information describes some of the changes you
can
expect. Your son or daughter will probably think, feel
and act differently as they grow and change. They
will
seek to become more competent, independent, self-sufficient
and socially skilled. They may not go about this
in
the most efficient manner or in a way that you totally
understand, but with encouragement and support, the
vast majority make it through the process successfully.
Although
it may be difficult to see your child leave home, remember
they are learning skills leading not only to a successful
education and career, but also to a satisfying life.
As students become more self-sufficient, their reliance
on you will begin to change. They need the freedom to
formulate personal goals and plans. Your ability to
be flexible will be a steadying influence on their change.
They need the courage to experience the ups and downs
of new challenges with the knowledge that you will be
there to help. As you begin to relinquish more and more
of your control, your child will learn to help and be
helped by others. It will be important for your child
to know the security of their home is always there,
and that a parent is still a parent even when encouraging
and allowing more for independence.
As
your child grows, a normal part of their development
will be the experimentation with a variety of roles
in an effort to establish their individuality. As a
parent you may find this to be both amusing and alarming.
We hope it will comfort you to know that after experimenting
with these various roles, the vast majority of young
adults return to the values and beliefs learned at home.
However, as the experimentation takes place, you will
find it challenging to understand and support what is
going on with your son or daughter. You can make a significant
contribution to their growth by allowing the student
the liberty to explore various alternatives and come
to their own conclusions about things like academic
major, career options, friends and other life style
choices. You can also serve as a role model for openness
to change while remaining constant with your personal
values. It will also be important for you to realize
that inevitably some of your child's choices will be
less than perfect.
Here
at Florida Tech, the student will meet people from different
geographic locations as well as different ethnic backgrounds
and cultures. They will be encouraged to appreciate
the diversity among people. It will be important for
parents to share in this process and encourage the exploration
of our diverse world. As the student becomes more familiar
with diversity, they will become more comfortable learning
from interacting with different types of people. Florida
Tech offers a multicultural environment to promote the
attainment of better communication skills and improved
management of relationships with others. You become
the beneficiary as your son or daughter becomes more
mature, gains more wisdom, and is able to better live
in our diverse world.
Counseling & Psychological Services provides
free psychological services to Florida Tech students to
assist them with these transitions.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
call us at:
(321) 674-8050
|
