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Counseling Services

Parent Resources

What Can I Do to Help My Student from a Distance?

Be available to talk and touch base regularly.

It may be helpful to have a conversation with your student about how often your student would like you to check-in. Express your interest in your students life at school while being respectful of one's independence.

Talk openly about finances.

Sit down with your students before they come to school to determine a detailed plan about who will pay for tuition, fees, books, and room and board, and what the family's expectations are about spending money.

Be realistic about grades.

Not every student who excelled academically in high school will be a straight-A student at Northeast. If your student is struggling academically, there are lots of resources on campus to help. Encourage your student to take advantage of the resources on campus.

Resources for Parents and Families

The Jed Foundation - tools to help promote emotional health. For a quick guide on how to protect your student's mental health, download What Can Parents Do?

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - get support on how to be a caregiver to someone who is having suicidal thoughts. 24/7 hotline: (800) 273-8255

Books

Almost Grown: Launching Your Child from High School to College, by Patricia Pasick

Coin: The Irreverent Yet Practical Guide to Money Management for Recent College Graduates, by Judy McNary

Don’t Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money: The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years, by Helen Johnson

Empty Nest . . . Full Heart, by Andrea VanSteenhouse

Emptying the Nest: Launching Your Young Adult Toward Success and Self-Reliance, by Brad Sachs

Getting Wasted: Why College Students Drink Too Much and Party So Hard, by Thomas Ven Vander

Graduate to a Great Job: Make Your College Degree Pay Off in Today's Market, by David DeLong

Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus, by Kathleen Bogle

How to Survive Your Freshman Year: By Hundreds of College Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors Who Did, by Mark Bernstein and Yadin Kaufmann

The iConnected Parent: Staying Close to Your Kids in College (and Beyond) While Letting Them Grow Up, by Barbara Hofer

In Addition to Tuition: The Parent's Survival Guide to Freshman Year of College, by Marian Edelman Borden, Mary Anne Burlinson, and Elise R. Kearns

The Launching Years: Strategies for Parenting from Senior Year to College Life, by Laura Kastner and Jennifer Wyatt

Letting Go: A Parent's Guide to Understanding the College Years, by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Teeger

The Naked Roommate (for Parents Only), Harlan Cohen

Navigating the First College Year: A Guide for Parents and Families, by Richard Mullendore and Leslie Banahan [also available in Spanish: Guia para los Padres de los Estudiantes de Primer Año, by Richard Mullendore and Leslie Banahan]

Off to College: A Guide for Parents, by Roger Martin

Parents of College Students Survival Stories, by Wendy David-Gaines

There is Life After College: What Parents & Students Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow, by Jeffrey Selingo

When Your Kid Goes to College: A Parent's Survival Guide, by Carol Barkin

You’re on Your Own, But I’m Here if You Need Me: Mentoring Your Child During the College Years, by Marjorie Savage

Blogs, Websites, and Articles for College Parents & Families

Throughout the various stages of raising your child, there have been books, websites, and blogs to help you along the way. If you are interested in learning more about the student and family relationship during the college years, here are a few online informational resources:


College Parents of America:
http://www.collegeparents.org

National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition:
http://www.sc.edu/fye/index.html

Important conversations to have with your student:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-lights/201608/college-parents-101

College student health:
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/college-prep-this-time-for-health/?emc=eta1

Tips for parents about the college transition:
www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2014/09/02/9-tips-on-how-to-be-a-good-college-parent/?utm_term=.b34b0c639a8a
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/harlan-cohen/15-things-parents-of-firs_b_7983330.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-transition-college
https://www.settogo.org/

Freshman Myths:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-harke/high-school-to-college-tr_b_620043.html

Alcohol/Other Drugs:
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/how-a-college-roommate-can-affect-your-child/
https://www.npr.org/sections/how-parents-can-help-their-underage-kids-resist-alcohol?utm_
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117230/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kids-will-be-kids-so-parents-must-be-parents
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/teenagers-dealing-with-addiction-on-what-might-have-helped/

When your student needs help, encourage them to take advantage of all the services available on campus.

  • If your student needs help deciding on a major, recommend s/he make an appointment with the Academic Advisors or Career Services.
  • For help with accommodations for ADHD, Learning disabilities, or other learning difficulties, recommend the Disability Services office.
  • If your student is having trouble with a professor or trying to withdraw from classes, recommend s/he contact her/his advisor.

Helpful Links

The Jed Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization working to reduce the rate of suicide and the prevalence of emotional distress among college students.