After high school, some children go on to university, college, community college, or a technical school. Oftentimes, that's our children's first experience with true independence, which is a completely different kind of education. The freshman year offers the potential for pitfalls, and students show their ability or lack of ability to handle independence quickly.

Education is something that continues from the day we are
born until the day we die. In some cases, it's formal, with
definite starting and finishing times and a specific course
of study.

After high school, some children go on to university,
college, community college, or a technical school.
Oftentimes, that's our children's first experience with
true independence, which is a completely different kind of
education. And, in addition to the formal subjects, schools
of higher education also offer learning in social skills
and other life skills.

The freshman year offers the potential for pitfalls, and
students show their ability or lack of ability to handle
independence quickly.

Food, money, recreation and study habits are the four most
common problem areas in the freshman year. You can help
your child succeed by talking with them about this ahead of
time and helping them set specific goals in each of these
areas.

Food: With the multiple choices in the school cafeteria,
and no one monitoring their intake, children may choose
based on taste rather than nutrition. The infamous
'freshman fifteen' weight gain comes from this.

Money: Unprepared students are likely to run into
disastrous problems when they are suddenly expected to make
payments for books, housing and tuition.

Recreation: Without supervision and a curfew, freshmen can
get caught up in the excitement of seemingly unlimited time
to play. Sometimes their dorm mates are of legal drinking
age, leading to the temptation to party all the time when
that seems to be the only opportunity for fun and
socializing.

Study habits: Regular studying rather than last minute
cramming is essential. Being a full time student is
equivalent to having a full time job, and freshmen are
often surprised by how much time they need to study in
addition to the time spent in class.

You can help your college-bound child prepare for school
by talking with her about these potential problem areas,
and helping her set realistic goals. During the senior year
in high school, you can help your teenager prepare for
college by giving her the chance to practice more
independence while still living at home.

You can give your teenager the opportunity to schedule his
own time, to choose his own food, to budget his money and
time, within some limits. It's important to be balanced,
giving him some freedom yet not too much.

The danger for teenagers who have had no choices at home
is that they tend to go out of control when they first get
to college and have complete freedom. Setting goals and
achieving them, making wise decisions, and learning self-
discipline are all habits that are learned over time, not
overnight.

Of course, some students are better off taking some time
between high school and college, or attending a community
college and continuing to live at home. This gives your
teenager the opportunity to learn important life skills
before going on to formal education. As a parent, you can
help your child to evaluate and decide the best route. If
your student needs more time to develop maturity and life
skills, you are wise to give them the time rather than
pushing them before they are ready.

Whether your teenager goes directly from high school to
college or takes a break, you can help them make choices
and develop skills that will serve them well throughout
their lives.

Lila Norden is a career counselor with 14 years' experience
as an educator. Lila offers valuable information to help
you make decisions about your education and career. Visit
her web site Education
Times. Additional articles by Lila are also at FP Employment and FLS Job