Guidelines for Homecoming with Your College Student

The fall season is in full swing and college campuses everywhere are gearing up for their homecoming festivities. For parents, this may entail their first visit to their student's school since move-in day and vice versa. As exciting as such reunions can be, parents and students alike can be at a loss for how to spend homecoming weekend with each other. Parents may be wondering what to do and how to act so that they're not annoying or embarrassing. Here are some tips for parents about how to behave during homecoming from my own experiences as a college student.

1) Show interest in the clubs and organizations your student has joined.
Most, if not all campus clubs will at the very least have a booth for homecoming to advertise themselves. If your student has joined a few clubs, he/she will probably want to give you a first-hand look and introduce you to the friends they've made there and what the club(s) is (are) really like. If your child isn't that active or involved in anything, then encourage them to walk around with you. Maybe they'll see a table for a club they'll want to join. Another good idea is to express interest in watching the sports events going on. Even those who don't care for sports usually find something to enjoy at homecoming games, especially since there are a lot more school pride events than usual.

2) Don't ask a million questions all at once.
I know you're very eager to learn everything about your child's life at college, but firing one question after another can get very annoying very quickly. Like it or not, there are going to be some things that your student won't want to be detailed about when talking to you, especially when it comes to their social lives, so it's best not to push the matter.

3) Don't act like you know your way around campus better than your student.
You're not the one walking/driving around campus every day to get to classes. You're not the one living there and seeing/using the same routes all the time. No matter how good your memory or sense of direction is, when your student tells you that something is this way and not that way, you're most likely the one who's wrong.

Keep these simple tips in mind, relax, and have a fun homecoming weekend!