It can be hard to know how to help your child if they are far away at college and it sounds like he or she is really struggling. If your child is currently going to UAB, you could look into a visit back home and even consider earning a degree with UAB Online. But before you do that, you might want to see if you can do a few things to help from afar. Here is how to help your stressed out college student.
Encourage Yoga
If you have a child who is in college and you fear that he or she may be getting far too stressed out for his or her own good, then you may want to encourage enrollment in yoga classes. In yoga, you learn to breathe deep into your belly and focus your mind on relaxing your thoughts and engaging your muscles. Most people find that they feel much happier and more relaxed when they do just 30 minutes of yoga per day.
Send a Gift Certificate for a Massage
One great way to help your child alleviate stress is by paying for a massage. Of course, massages aren’t cheap, so you probably won’t be able to do this very often. Then again, if you can afford to treat your child once per month or twice per semester, then you could really help your child calm his or her nerves and focus his or her mind. A lot of college students have a tremendous amount pent up stress and tension from sleepless nights, long lectures, and endless studying. A relaxing massage will do the trick to loosen up tight muscles and encourage deep breathing.
Find a Tutor
If your child is mostly stressed due to not performing very well in one or more of class, then you might want to consider finding a tutor. Depending on how much help is needed, you might need multiple tutors for different classes, but it’s always good to start with one and see how it goes first. A tutor will not only help your child better understand the curriculum, but they will also teach your child how to create better independent study habits which will improve overall performance in each and every class.
Help with Moving
Some college students experience a lot of stress that is brought on by a bad living situation. If your child is sharing a room with someone who doesn’t treat him or her with respect, or has roommates that lead lives that are disruptive to your child’s wellbeing, then you may need to find alternative housing. Your child will eventually need to learn how to search for rooms to rent and apply for housing after graduation so you may as well walk him or her through it the first time. Once your child finds a place that helps focus on studying then things will improve dramatically.
Assist with Money Management
A lot of college students experience a stress because of a lack of knowledge regarding money management. If you are supporting your child financially during college, then you should be checking banking statements and observing spending habits. You can try to show your child exactly where money is going and how to make an allowance or monthly income last. You can also help by using a money management website together so that they you both can track monthly spending and budgeting.
