Are You and Your Child Ready for University?

From the day you found out that you were pregnant until the end of high school, the whereabouts of your little bundle of joy may have been within the reach of your hands. You may even swear that the gods have taken arms to ensure that your teenager successfully completes high school, don’t take drugs or even early diapers! Wait a minute, doesn’t the next step entail your child leaving for the university; the land of no bells, no soothing teachers and lots of raving from Friday to Monday morning?

While many parents look forward to seeing their children pass their high school exams so as to join the university, a good number of them are not emotionally ready to set them free to begin a new life on their own. The fear that peer pressure awaits your child could paralyze the very courage you have always depended on while sending them to a camp in the mountains. Delaying the entry to university or even changing the campus to one near you may seem like a great idea; one that you may be forced to heed. Alternatively, you could choose to brave up and tackle this maze, “How to best prepare for university regardless of the geographical location?”

Be real with your child

While your time in university may have been all about focus, friends and fashion; today’s is slightly different. Discussing with your child about the good, bad and ugly moments of your life in university is one of the best ways to equip your child with the knowledge they need to go through this stage. Let your child know that you will not be there to wake them up for school, the end-of-period bell will cease to guide, lecturers may not care much whether they answer questions in class, in fact, strikes, drinking sprees, pregnancies and drugs will be at the center stage. Help them understand that actions have consequences whether or not you are watching.

Do not leave out the mistakes

You may have gone through university flawlessly, that was you then and your child is a different being altogether. Clearly, they have a great potential to be bad if they so wish but they will remain biologically yours. Assure them that they will make mistakes and if they bought into your wisdom, they will learn from such but you do not expect them to go testing all waters; common sense application will go a long way.

Keep prayers in the equation

Like every equation, university life has the knowns and the unknowns. For the knowns, school fees is to parent and CAT marks is to the child; each has a battle to tackle. The unknowns however, will set you restless; those require the highest authority. Praying openly for your child, their choice of friends while not forgetting the possible enemies that they will find at the university will help your child understand how important this transition is to both of you. Let God take the wheel.

Life at the university is a rough sea; unknown to many, it is neither time-out for you nor the beginning of freedom from the parent-monitored life for your child. It is the furnace test for the tensile strength of the child-parent trust and only a few go through it unscathed.