Helping Big Kids Tackle The World

*This is a collaborative post.

As our children grow up, it can often feel like they don’t need us like they used to. While you might not need to help them get dressed and do their hair in the morning anymore – they still need you for more than you might think. 

Between the ages of 15-18+, your children will be flexing their muscles in terms of decision making, work choices, friends, and relationships. There are usually some big choices coming up like going to university, choosing suitable accommodations for students like them, and managing bills. 

Here are a few ways that you can help your biggest kids as they prepare to head off on what might be their first big adventure. 

The most significant role you can play is a support role, ensuring they always know you are there if they need you – and for any reason.

Money

One of the biggest challenges for children moving out of the home is usually money. Not all parents or carers have enough free cash to support their children through university. 

While most children will have part-time jobs to help pay for their education, they will still need to manage their money well.

Ahead of making university applications, you must both look at all of the options in terms of bursaries, loans, and grants. Often there can be more available, and they can improve their time at university and relieve a lot of the worry. 

Helping them to set a budget that includes all of the main bills and books is essential. 

Support services

The transition from living at home and studying under a lot of supervision to learning, working, and living alone can shock the system. Often, it can be exciting for the first few weeks, but it can also feel lonely and can cause anxious moments. 

The support services within an educational establishment should be well documented in the literature, but it always warrants further discussion. 

Ensure that your child knows that although you are always available, other support services can help. Sometimes our children need to be able to discuss things with people outside of their immediate family. 

Visit

Once they leave, it can be challenging to decide when is the best time to visit – most often, your child is going to come home in the first few weeks – but after that? Ensure that you have something regularly booked in so that it is never too far between visits unless they move many states or a country away. 

When your child leaves home, you might also need some time to adjust to your new role; instead of taking care of them directly, you will switch into a support role. And it doesn’t hurt to have some groceries delivered every once in a while – or take them grocery shopping, so you know they have always got the ingredients for a tasty meal. 

If your little ones are a long way off the big move to university, then you have plenty of time to start thinking about: How to Start Saving for Baby’s College Early.