One of the ways parents and students can make that last goodbye after the students are settled in and the parents are just about to drive away is this: Remind each other of your next visit. “I’ll call you next week if I don’t hear from you; Or “Don’t forget, I’ll be sending your plane tickets in about six weeks so you can fly home”; Or “We’ll drive up in two weeks for Parents’ Day, see you then!” helps you and your child.
Maybe you are thinking, “My child may never return home.” Or perhaps you fear that the safety and welfare of your child could be in danger, and you aren’t there to protect.
These are common fears for parents, along with subtler feelings of being abandoned, no longer loved or needed, cut off from the details of their children’s lives; and lacking the ability to monitor and influence their day-to-day activities and events.
If you had a good relationship with your child prior to college, you will have a good relationship while your child is going to school too. If you didn’t have a good relationship with your child, college may actually end up improving relations.
Many times college students come home with a greater appreciation for mom and dad, and as they mature, that appreciation grows.
Parents may feel sad as they leave their children at their dorms or apartments to start new lives as college students. Keep in mind, your child probably has that very same pit-of-the-stomach ache that you do.