From Cooking to Computers: How to Prepare Your Child for University. It’s that time of year where parents wave goodbye to their teenagers as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. Dropping your child off at university is an emotional time for everyone involved. Your teenager probably feels a mix of excitement and anxiety about the unknown. You may feel upset about leaving them in a new place to find their feet in a new city. Feeling this way is, of course completely normal, and in time you will all adjust to this unfamiliar situation.
Knowing that your child is well prepared for their new experience can help to ease some of the worries that you have about them living outside the family home. Wrapping children in cotton wool is obviously no use; to fully embrace their new life, they need to be able to fend for themselves.
Equipping teenagers with the skills needed to live independently is always going to be of enormous benefit to them. Preparing your child for life in the outside world will give you some peace of mind. Preparing them for independence will also help them to settle in much faster in their new accommodation. Having the right tools to cope with life at uni will help take away some of the stress caused by this time of change, and help them to be more self-sufficient.
Gaining life skills is an essential part of growing up, and can really help to boost your teenager’s confidence. Combining a strong grasp of the life skills needed to live independently, and the right equipment for life at university will help your child get their studies off to a great start.
Getting Equipped for Study
To be able to focus on their studies, your child will need the right equipment. To cope with those inevitable late-night study sessions, they will need their own laptop to work on. If you are looking to buy your teenager new tech for college, make sure you take a look at the Apple student discount as you may be eligible to make a saving on your purchase.
As well as having the right technology, your child will need a variety of other equipment for their studies. Even in the age of technology, stationery is a must-have requirement, so don’t forget to stock up on pens and pads of paper.
You should also be provided with a reading list by the university in the weeks leading up to the start of the academic year. The reading list will probably contain a whole host of textbooks, and with some further research, you may find that they are eye-wateringly expensive! Many past students sell their books after completing their course. So buying a second-hand copy, instead of a new one could help you to make some significant savings. Make sure that you check that you are purchasing the correct edition of the textbook. Many textbooks are continually updated, to reflect the latest research and evidence to support their arguments.
Getting Ready for Living Independently
Some teenagers are naturally better equipped for living independently than others. If your child is generally well-organised, this can really help them to adjust to the routine of balancing lectures with taking care of themselves.
Depending on the accommodation that your child will be staying in, they will need to bring along their own household items. Plates, mugs, cutlery, tea towels, saucepans etc. are all likely to be necessary. To save money, you may wish to give them spares from your own kitchen. Alternatively, at this time of year, many retailers run ‘back to uni’ offers on essential home-ware items, which can help save you some cash.
To be able to use the kitchen equipment you provide, your child will need to have some idea on how to cook for themselves. If your child hasn’t shown much interest in cooking in the past, now is the time to teach them some recipes that are ideal meals for one. Sending some essential store cupboard ingredients to uni with your child is a great idea. They can use these ingredients to create the recipes as you get them started on their culinary journey.
A Final Thought…
Dropping your child off at university for the first time can be extremely emotional for the whole family. However, this is also a time to feel pride at the amazing young person your child has become. It is a time for excitement about the endless opportunities that lie ahead for them as they begin this brand new adventure.
*Collaborative Post*
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