If you and your child have a particularly close bond, then it is always a painful thing to watch them go away to college. Most people worry about the child being able to adjust to college life and live in a completely new environment and community, but what about you as their parent?
Oftentimes, it is the parent who has the hardest time adjusting to this major change, especially if this change leaves the house completely empty. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways that you can alleviate the pain that comes with giving your child their independence. Here is how to deal with an empty nest when your child leaves for college.
Find a New Hobby
As hard as it can be to let go of your youngest or only child when they go to college, you need to accept that they are now adults. Most likely they are going to be out of the house for good now, except of course over school breaks, and you’ll need to find another way to pass the time. That’s why it can be very beneficial to start a new hobby. Not only will you feel energized by a new found passion in life, but you will also be able to distract yourself from thinking about your child all the time.
Go Back to School
If you never finished your undergraduate degree, or if you always wanted to earn a master’s, then you might want to think about applying for college as well. You could even apply to study online with a highly reputable college. For example, you could apply for USC’s masters in communication, and you could study from the comfort of your own home.
Not only will you be very busy with your studies, but you will also be able to talk about college life with your child so that you both can find some new common ground to discuss. Who knows, you might even find yourself taking very similar courses and you could help each other study.
Make New Friends
For a lot of parents, their kids are some of their closest friends. If this is the case for you and your child, then it could be extremely difficult to let go. Although, if you start to make new friends of your own, then it could be a little easier to distract yourself until the next holiday visit.
You could even meet these new friends when you explore a new hobby or decide to jump back into college. There’s always a very good chance that there are plenty of fun, likeminded people just waiting to meet you.
Take on an Exchange Student
If you just really like to have a youngster in the house and to feel like you have someone to take care of, then you might want to look into taking on an exchange student, or even a local student who is attending a nearby college. This way, you will not have to live in a lonely, empty house, but you will even get some help paying the bills. You can cook and watch movies with your new roommate, and before long you will be bonding and giving one another advice.
