April 13 talk to give parents heads-up on kids' transition to college life

Date: 4/5/2010

April 5, 2010

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Managing Editor



LONGMEADOW -- The time has finally arrived. Your son or daughter is preparing for that next step to adulthood -- going off to college.

You're worried about what school will accept them. You're worried about how much it will cost.

You're worried about their safety, their money smarts, their new friends and most of all, how your relationship will change with this newly-free, out-on-his-or-her-own young adult.

Susan Solomon, Ph.D, knows the anticipation and fears that lay ahead for parents and their college-bound children. As a college professor - most recently chair of the Business Department at Bay Path College in Longmeadow - and a former college textbook editor, she's been on numerous campuses and worked closely with scores of students.

As a life coach now specializing in the transition to college, she's also helped both students and parents through the transition.

On April 13, Solomon will share some of her insights in a talk titled "How to Avoid the Top 10 Mistakes Parents Make When Their Child Goes to College" at Storrs Library.

The event will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Then library is located at 693 Longmeadow St.

According to Storrs Adult Librarian Barbara Fitzgerald, information on the free lecture, which is open to the public, was already sent home with students attending Longmeadow High School.

In an interview about her upcoming talk, Solomon said she's spoken with many parents who admit they wish they'd known some of her tips before their son or daughter headed off to college.

"Some parents never went to college. Some went years ago. It's very different now; there are different pressures," Solomon said.

Her talk will focus on some nuts and bolts issues -- what you need to know about the security and health policies of a college, what numbers you want your child to provide you with in case of emergencies, how to prepare your child to deal with the new academic and social freedoms of campus life as well as how to keep the lines of communication open as your relationship changes from parent-high schooler to parent-young adult.

"There's a lot of fear around that [transition]," Solomon said. "How is my relationship going to change and how is my communication going to change?"

She said the key is to acknowledge that your child is "becoming an adult" and to develop strategies that will allow you to "still be a supportive parent and still let them emerge."