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This post is from Grown and Flown

by Caroline Finnegan | Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

Dear Families,
A little intro from a three-time champion of the smooth transition home for the summer. As the third child among my parents’ four, I wasn’t the first college kid to come home for the summer and attempt to “rule the roost,” as my dad likes to say. The easy (ok, occasionally challenging) transition was made possible by my wonderful parents who wanted nothing but the best for their kids.

The thing to keep in mind when laying down the law in your home, from the perspective of a college student, is to remember that we’ve been on our own for a year (or two, or three, or four) now, and we’ve gained a lot of independence. Sure the messy rooms, the lack of ability to do laundry and the aloof attitude might say otherwise, but the reality is, we’ve thrown ourselves into new situations without the safety net of our families and have matured in ways that might not jump off the page…just yet.

It’s tough coming home to the requests of our families when, for so long, we’ve been planning our days just the way we want them: wake up on time, go to class, workout, get lunch with friends…etc…etc….

A lot of families won’t see the maturity of their young adults when they come home for summer, because the truth is, we regress back to our younger selves. We know our families are there to (hopefully) buy groceries, to say no when we ask to do certain things, and to encourage us to get off the couch and to do something active, so we’re relaxed.

At school, we don’t have this back-up, and we’re forced to discipline ourselves, but you probably won't see that whilst we’re in the comfort of our own homes. Even if your students are acting like their seventeen-year-old selves, try not to treat them as you did in the past, and hopefully they’ll get the picture. If you give them the independence they had in college, they will be encouraged to show you just how much they’ve matured while at school.

P.S. My dad would also like to note that college students should realize they are adults sharing a house with other adults.

Click here to read (and share with your student) the advice Caroline has for students as they prepare to return home for the summer!