How to Cope when Your Kids Go to College
I started talking to friends to help me work through my emotions and I realized how much it helped just to talk out my feelings with others and be able to talk to other Moms who had gone through the same thing as I was going through. It felt so good to know that I was not alone.
I also decided it would be a great time for me to start focusing on my interests and needs, so I signed up for kickboxing and also took a painting class. Keeping myself busy was one of the best things I did for myself and it was actually wonderful being able to do something that I wanted to do.
My husband and I also started to spend a lot more time together alone and it was really fantastic to be able to connect with him again. We started going to the movies and dinner often on the weekends, it felt like we were dating all over again.
I really did miss my daughter often but as time went on, it did become a little easier. I always tried to look at the positive aspects and one of the big positives was that I was able to do things for myself that I had never been able to do in the past.
I am lucky that my emotions leveled out, but I know there are parents who do not cope as well with their child leaving home for college. If a parent has issues that are severely affecting their personal life, I would definitely recommend a professional opinion like one from a counselor.
Know that time eases some of the pain and that although your child leaving home for college can be traumatic, it is also a time for you to treat yourself to all the things that were put on a back burner when you had little ones running around the house.
Published by Michelle M. Guilbeau
Michelle is best known as the how to girl and she is a consistent Hot 100 Yahoo! writer. She contributes to Yahoo! Shine, Your Wisdom from Yahoo!, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports and the Yahoo! Contributer Net... View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentI have two children who went off to college. My son was first and although it was hard I had my daughter at home to keep me busy. When it was time for my daughter to go I knew it was not going to be good.
First, I felt like I was losing my best friend. My daughter and I were very close and although she had alot of friends we always made time to do things together. I knew this day would come and I knew I should be happy for her but I knew once she stepped out into the big world on her own she was ready to fly and things would never be the same. After she left I was having a conversation with my sister in law and I will never forget what she said to me. I told her I was lost because my daughter was gone and I was having a hard time being who I was without her and her not needing me anymore and she said to me "isn't that our goal as a parent, to make our children indepedant of us so they can be own there own". She Looked at it like I had done my job as a parent and given the tools sh
I didn't go to Collage because I knew my mom would get bored and emotional without me in the house....At least, that's the story I use to explain why I didn't go....
Very well written article with a lot of helpful tips for parents. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
I felt the same way you did, only in my case it was my son going off to school. As he walked out the door, I remembered him standing at that SAME door as a 2 or 3 year old, handing me some very sticky Hershey chocolate kisses as a loving gesture. I had to go in the bathroom and cry for awhile after he left for college. The time passed so quickly from childhood to college!