Summer time can be filed with stress, worry and bad feelings as parents and students adjust to living together once again. It may kinda look the same as it was last summer, but I am telling you, the world has changed as you know it.

Students have been on their own for a full school year and they are happy to be home as long as the rules are adapted to their newly discovered freedom. I offer the following strategies to set both you and your student up for success:

1. Expect your student to continue to keep their clothes washed, rooms cleaned and chores done. Remember, they may do it different but if it gets done, that is okay.

2. Expect your kiddo to find some positive means of passing the summer. This may be employment of some sort, taking over household chores, looking after younger siblings (babysitting), volunteer work, or taking classes... something productive. After the first few days, sleeping all day and playing all night is not acceptable.

3. Don't miss this amazing opportunity to talk and to LISTEN to this changed person. Their entire world view may be different. Remember they are just trying on different beliefs, so some of their ideas may be shocking, different, or contrary to yours. Usually a student graduates from college with the same ethics they entered college with, but they are all over the place in the middle of the college experience. This is part of the maturing process.

4. Early in the first week they are home, if you haven't done this already, discuss your expectations with them. What are the rules that are firm? What are the rules that can be negotiated? Discuss curfew hours and remember, they have been on their own for 9 months.

5. Find out what their goals are. Have their goals changed? What are they thinking about their future? What are their plans for the following year to augment their classroom experiences?

6. Expect that your young adult will be missing their college friends. In college they are surrounded by people 24/7. Now that they are home and they seen their local friends for a few days they realize their high school friends have started shifting towards their college friends too. Everything is just different.

7. Finally, give them notice about meal times and family times. When are they expected to be home for meals, family gatherings etc... Also discuss family vacation plans if the expectation is that they will be part of the vacation.

Enjoy your summer and don't miss this fleeting phase in your child's life. If you get the summer started with clear expectations, then everyone has good memories.

Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success - a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child's chances of a successful college experience.

Posted by Candice Arnold on June 22, 2009 at 7:46 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I respond to journalist and reporters all the time who are looking for experts. They give the topic of their article, book or blog and request information. I keep looking for a journalist that has an optimistic approach. I would like to see more written that offers hope. It appears that the mind set is to write about how bleak the economy is, how bleak the job market... Tell us something we don;t know. Tell us how people are managing and managing well.

I have an out of the box suggestion. We have all these graduates, all these college students with amazing tech skills. How many of you parents out there were just waiting for your kiddo to get home from college so they could get your computer working or program your new cell phone or set up the new flat screen?

There are jobs. There are people looking for these skills. The trick is to find them. BUT you don't find them if you don't look. With all the down sizing going on, employers are looking for someone to do the work, now that they have laid off everyone. They are posting these jobs on the internet. There are networks with thousands of jobs posted right this moment on the internet.

We use to coach retirees that wanted to supplement their retirement in the down turned economic market or they just want to keep their brains active. What we discovered is a huge niche for young people. We now have an internet course that teaches the tricks for developing yourself as a barefoot consultant. An entrepreneur and you can be any age. In fact the youngsters have the tech skills. We have the wisdom. There is work for all of us.

Check out GlobalEarningPower.com

Article by, College Parenting Expert, Dr. Debi Yohn, whose advice on successfully getting college students through college with an emphasis on graduation and rewarding employment is sought by parents from around the world. Now for the first time, she reveals 27 Winning Strategies for Success - a guidebook geared to parents of new college students. Get her free e-Book now at http://www.collegeparentsadvice.com/ and improve your child's chances of a successful college experience.

Posted by Candice Arnold on June 19, 2009 at 7:42 AM | Leave a Comment (0)