Successful College Parenting Newsletter Archives
students standing by treeSuccessfulCollegeParenting.com is a resource to parents, schools, and colleges as they partner to prepare and educate students in the pre-college and college years.
 
The Successful College Parenting Newsletter is written for parents of pre-college and college students who want: 
  • new ways to address parenting challenges and problems;
  • enhanced knowledge of college resources and opportunities;
  • an expanded understanding of their student's development and growth;
  • to help their student to make the most of his or her educational experience.

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  • The newsletter topics follow the rhythm of a traditional academic year -- Click on the monthly issues below to access the newsletter
  • Sept. '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Parenting Approaches and the Messages they Convey
    DID YOU KNOW: Parents' Use of Social Media Can Cause Colleges & Students Grief
  • Sept. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: The early-in-the-semester calls about "the food is good" morph into "there's nothing to eat!" The roommate who initially seemed cool becomes a nightmare to live with, so what does it mean when your son or daughter complains and what can you do to effectively respond? Learn effective strategies to limit complaining.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: College students are spending more and more time engaging in social media and on-line games, isolating themselves from peers at college and keeping them from involvement in on-campus activities. Learn how you can help.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about the mostly likely types of crises on college campuses.
  • Sept. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Communicating With Your Student: How Much Is Too Much?
    Assess your communication patterns with your student and learning strategies for potentially more effective conversations.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Let Your Student Know The Possibilities

    DID YOU KNOW: Research identifies that Millennials argue less with their parents than past generations of students and parents.
  • Sept. '09 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Learn about stressors encountered when children return to school and college after summer vacation. Create greater focus on the developmental opportunities for your pre-college or college student as they successfully transition from the unknown, and continue to discover who they are.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Learn strategies for communicating during stressful times.

    DID YOU KNOW: Interesting facts about study abroad and your student.
  • Oct. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Gain tips for supporting your student during Mid-semester stress. Some students are thriving, but many are working against a tide of depletion -- lack of sleep, poor diet, and stress.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: How can you help your student to make healthy food choices while away at school and avoid the Freshman 15. Read the article by guest contributor, Shelley Howe, MS. RD. CDN.

    DID YOU KNOW: Favorite college food trends in 2010.
  • Oct. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Don't You Trust Me? Trust is earned and it is a basic building block of our interpersonal relationships - and this is certainly true in our family interactions. When a student goes to college, parents are often faced with exploring whether or not they trust their child to make good decisions and to stay safe. Learn effective strategies for interacting with your student around the issue of trust.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Help Your Student Shine. Students desperately need help learning how to verbalize their strengths and competencies with confidence. This is increasingly important when they seek campus leadership positions, apply for summer internships or jobs, approach faculty about joining research teams, etc. Create opportunities, through conversation, for your student to talk about his or her strengths.

    DID YOU KNOW: Students Find Conducting Research Frustrating. Information overload is at the top of the list.
  • Oct. '09 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Explore the difficulties in getting an accurate measure of how your pre-college or college student is doing socially and academically when he or she is away from home. Learn about positive behaviors that may serve as indicators of success and practice open-ended questions that encourage your child to open-up. Gain strategies for parenting supportively while your student gains skills in decision making.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Consider the value of writing to your student.

    DID YOU KNOW: Top impediments to academic success.
  • Nov. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: This month's article was provided as a free webinar, through the month of Nov., called, Navigating the Holidays: When Your Student Comes Home.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Gain tips for interacting with your student during the first hours of his or her return home for Thanksgiving Break.

    DID YOU KNOW: Gain insights from contributing author, Monica Matthews, about how to help your student to uncover scholarship dollars while attending college. "The money is out there."
  • Nov. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Problem Solving - Whose Solution Is It? Parents often ask me how they should respond when their son or daughter tells them that he or she is failing a class, experiencing significant roommate issues, or is falling behind in homework, etc. Gain strategies to help your student to come up with solutions to common problems and challenges experienced in college.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Changing Habits. During October I spent quite a bit of time with parents and students who were attending family weekend events, and I noticed a pattern in communication to which I want to draw some attention. Please stop completing your student's sentences!

    DID YOU KNOW: The Forecast in Degrees. Learn what is being awarded in 2010-2011.
  • Nov. '09 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: There are often high expectations for pre-college and college students to have a clear vision of their academic and career path, but the well-meaning questions from curious relatives at a holiday gathering can seem like an interrogation for a student who isn't prepared. Gain strategies to help your child to take their time in making academic and career decisions, and help equip them to respond to questions for which they have not yet arrived at answers.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Establish expectations for school breaks before your child is spending lots of time at home.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about the top stressors for students during school breaks.
  • Dec. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Great Holiday Gifts for Your College Student
    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL:Hang In There When Students Want to Transfer
    DID YOU KNOW:Beer is big business at college stadiums
  • Dec. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Second Thoughts: Making A Major Change. Mid-year, when one semester is ending and your student is existing between what was and what could be, you might notice your son or daughter expressing second thoughts about any number of decisions that he or she has made. Sometimes the doubts are about one's academic major, the pursuit of a particular career path, or whether or not the current college is a good fit. Students can feel very frustrated when they have second thoughts about important academic decisions. Gain tips and learn strategies for guiding your son or daughter as he or she experiences second thoughts.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Talking about grades with your college student can feel like you are walking on thin ice -- and this presumes that your student will show you his or her grades or has given you access to his or her electronic academic record. Gain a few tips to ease what can be a tense discussion.

    DID YOU KNOW: The Campus Learning Center Is Important to Student Success. Learn about the top three most used services by students.
  • Dec. '09 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: As each semester or marking period progresses we can see the stress level rise in our children. It is during these weeks that we often feel a heightened concern for our children and experience our own sense of stress. In this article you will gain strategies for supporting your student through end-of-semester stress.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Never underestimate how seemingly small changes can impact your student. Learn about the case of the new sheets.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about reclaiming sleep and recommendations to colleges to provide sleep intervention programs.
  • Jan. '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Helping Your Student Navigate Risk
    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: A Time to Reflect
    DID YOU KNOW: What Men Think About (& Women Too)
  • Jan. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Fresh Start: Looking Ahead. While you are wondering about how your student did last semester, he or she is wondering about whether the car is available tonight. Consider being less interested in what was and more focused on what can evolve this coming semester. Your student will always have reasons why things didn't work out as planned, and it will rarely be because he or she admits to "messing up." Gain strategies to stay out of the battle zone and to incorporate the past by talking about the future.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: College students are bombarded by words and incoming messages 24/7 -- a lot of it just fills empty space with little value or purpose. It becomes more and more difficult to be heard, even as parents, in this communication-dense environment. Think about saying more with less by trying this exercise.

    DID YOU KNOW: Gain access to campus crime and data report.
  • Jan. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Learn about some of the characteristics and behaviors that are common to parents who generally feel positive about their parentings skills.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Prompt your student to use the new semester or marking period as an opportunity to establish new goals.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about the more common goals or resolutions that students have for the new academic term or marking period.
  • Feb. '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: DO WHAT YOU LOVE - helping your student during career exploration
    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: It is Sometimes a One Way Street
    DID YOU KNOW: Reasons that students cite for attending college
  • Feb. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Never too Early: Guiding Your Student Toward Employability --One of my ongoing concerns when I advised students was that most students waited far too late to adequately prepare themselves to stand out in the candidate pools for internships, summer jobs, or full-time employment beyond college. As a parent you can play an instrumental role throughout the college years, guiding your student toward opportunities and experiences that will maximize his or her employability, encouraging your student to fully utilize the career and internship resources at his or her institution, and having conversations with your student that grow his or her ability to effectively communicate all that he or she has to offer. Gain insights and strategies to enhance your student's employability.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Love relationships are common in college and while some students can sustain high levels of motivation other students get off-track. Gain insight in how to help your student focus.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about career path considerations that are the most important to college students.
  • Feb. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Think about your evolving relationship with your student and consider ways to expand your expressions of parental love and support across the miles.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Our desire to provide our student with information to make good decisions is key, yet some conversations may feel very awkward. Consider asking yourself some questions to begin to create a greater sense of ease.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about the most frequently cited consequences that students experience when they drink.
  • Mar. '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: The Words You Choose
    DID YOU KNOW: Downward Trend in Students Entering First-Choice School
  • Mar. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE:When we worry we transport our parenting into the "What if" zone. Our frame of thinking then influences what comes next -- our words and interactions with our student. Worry is one of the most counterproductive mental activities in which one can engage when parenting a college student. Kay provides insight into the sources for worry and strategies to refocus your mental energy.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: We place a lot of value on what people think, but help your student to develop his or her gut instincts about critical situations and choices.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about the history of spring break.
  • Mar. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Just when parents get comfortable with their student being away at college, their student often approaches them about studying abroad. Gain insight into questions you will wnat to ask your student as he or she explores opportunities to study or travel abroad.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Even with all of the technology available to us, it is not always easy to connect with your student when he or she is studying abroad. Think about having a communication plan in place prior to your student's departure.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn which are the 25 most popular destinations for U.S. students to study abroad.
  • April 2012 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Observations From a Parent Coach
    DID YOU KNOW: Your Student
    will Both Benefit & Suffer due to Living a Hyper-connected Life
  • April '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: The Best Choice: Isn't There Really More Than One -- Learn strategies to help your student to see that there are often many best choices and how much of what is gained from an experience often directly relates to your student's engagment in it.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: It is difficult when we suspect our student is struggling and needs help. Offering advice often shuts down communication, but asking questions can be a good strategy to guide your student toward people and campus resources that can help him or her.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn what employers expect from recent college graduates.
  • April '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: In a society where very little money passes from hand-to-hand, our children are faced with many opportunities to overspend while away at college. The temptations range from expensive off-campus meals to on-line gambling and shopping. As parents, we cannot afford to underestimate the need to provide our children with a financial education. This article provides you with ideas about how to assess what your son or daughter may already know and offers ideas about anticipating and creating teachable moments to strengthen you child's personal financial awareness.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Many parents are cautious about having their child get a credit card before going to college. Gain a couple of different perspectives about whether or not you want your child to have one.

    DID YOU KNOW: Find out how many credit cards undergraduate students report having.
  • May '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Phrases for Your Parenting Toolbox
    DID YOU KNOW: How Long Does That Degree Really Take?
  • May '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: When it comes to our parenting we often convey instructions, advice, values, and opinions to our children and expect our input to be nearly instantly integrated. Haven’t you heard yourself say on more than one occasion, “You mean you haven’t (fill in the blank) yet?” Or, “I can’t believe you don’t understand ….” Don’t underestimate the time it takes for an idea or suggestion to take hold. Learn strategies from two different clients.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Enhance your positive parenting focus by saying one nice thing to your son or daughter.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn what things college graduates wish they had done differently in preparing for the job market.
  • May '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: When our children come home for the summer, even if just for a portion of it, they are teetering between the child they were and the reasonably independent emerging adult that they have been while living away from home. Learn about some of the more common area of conflict that arise when your student re-enters the family system -- and explore strategies for making adjustments and setting expectations.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: During this summer you might find yourself in the position of administering consequences to redirect an undesired behavior or facilitating privileges to give attention to your child's good decisions and positive actions. In applying either of these strategies, it is important to know, to really know, what motivates your son or daughter. Gain insight into some options for learning more about your student's currency.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn a fact about the Millennial generation.
  • June '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Parenting Then and Now
    DID YOU KNOW: Parents & College Students Weigh In on Housing Needs and Concerns
  • June '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: We have asked our children countless questions over the years and as our children pass into and beyond their teen years our questions are often met with shorter responses, avoidance, and a vagueness that leaves us hanging onto every word to find out what is “really” going on. Asking questions is both art and science -- gain strategies and tips for enhancing communication.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Kearn to think about which you are doing at any given moment -- contaminating or contributing?

    DID YOU KNOW: See what students report as the impact of the current status of our economy.
  • June '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: More and more families are finding it both necessary and beneficial to bring family members together to talk about family issues; recognizing that much of the time they feel more like "independent housemates" than a family. Learn about
    successful areas of interaction and creative ideas for making family meetings both fun and productive. Learn what's working for parents as they shape family meetings that their pre-college and college-aged children actually enjoy.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: William J. Doherty, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, identifies that having frequent family dinners is associated with higher life satisfaction in the domains of relationships, mental and physical health, and sense of life achievement. Consider the importance and value of trying to eat together when possible -- and expand your ideas of ways to connect around a family meal.

    DID YOU KNOW: Summer jobs might be tight this year, but encourage your student to use his or her skills in entrepreneurial ways.
  • June '09 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Evaluating your pre-college or college student’s learning by simply looking at the letter grade on a transcript is a trap that may leave you misinformed. Gain strategies for delving deeper into the effort that went into getting that grade, which provides a more revealing and rewarding understanding of your child’s performance.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Should you resist the urge to give advice?

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about the top personal qualities employers seek in graduates.
  • July '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: A Day at the Beach - Helping Your Student to Navigate Life
    DID YOU KNOW: Some Colleges Seek to Boost Hope
  • July '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Colleges and universities recognize that there has been a documented increase in stress on their campuses. First year students are often overwhlemed by transitions and returning students experience the pressures of choosing a major, finding jobs, etc. Learn about "College of the Overwhelemed" and gain perspectives to guide your parenting.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Tips for guiding your student to access student success resources.

    DID YOU KNOW: National College Health Assessment Data about students reporting feeling overwhelmed.
  • July '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Gain strategies for interacting with your student who seems to lack motivation and learn more about the factors that often contribute to this state-of-being.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Learn strategies for communicating with your student who has found a need to lie.

    DID YOU KNOW: Campus policies and the family pet.
  • July '09 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Your personal stories provide opportunities to transmit lessons and connect with your children via your emotions, choices and actions. Gain ten tips for incorporating life-stories into your successful parenting approach. Stories provide evidence and support to the lessons that you desire to share. Engage your child in how you solved a particular problem, overcame a challenge, dealt with an emotional hardship, or dove into an unknown experience.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Finding the time to communicate with a busy child.

    DID YOU KNOW: Interesting facts about the amount of time students spend in classes.
  • Aug. '12 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Arriving at College a Family Affair
    DID YOU KNOW: Salaries for College Professors -- Just How Much Do They Make?
  • Aug. '11 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Excellent coaching and great parenting have a lot in common - gain tips and strategies to add to your parenting toolkit.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Gain tips for cultivating a greater sense of patience.

    DID YOU KNOW: Recent data about college students with disabilities
  • Aug. '10 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Saying Good-bye -- Shape your good-bye with your college-bound student in the days and weeks leading up to your student's departure. See how other parents have done so and consider which sentiments and messages are better shared before the final good-bye moments.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Parents always ask, "What if I cry?" Gain a perspective on which you can focus in those final moments with your student.

    DID YOU KNOW: Students seem pretty happy with their college experiences.
  • Aug. '09 Successful College Parenting Newsletter
  • FEATURED ARTICLE: Transitions are central to every family system, and for pre-college and college students the most common transitions often present great opportunities for growth in the areas of personal responsibility, academic development and relationships with others. Gain tips and strategies for successful parenting during times of transition.

    COMMUNICATION CENTRAL: Make a choice about when to talk with your child about his or her actions or behaviors.

    DID YOU KNOW: Learn about concerns that parents and students share.