It’s graduation time! It is a time when many are graduating high school or college. In either situation, it is a time to say goodbye and yet a time to say hello. It is a time of letting go. Both graduations are critical life events that offer great new beginnings in our students’ lives.
For those who are graduating high school, it is an opportunity for our teens to take all you have taught and given them and embark upon this life on their own. It is a grand new beginning for all of you. As parents you can sit back and enjoy the gift of your child’s unfolding and learning. Yet, it comes with the goodbye to what was so that you can say hello to what will be. The relationships that have been will change both with friends and with family. Your child has become an adult who will forge a different type of relationship with you. They will begin exploring new aspects of life, job, career, education. So, it is a time for you to begin exploring them as they continue to change.
Some high-school students will go away and some will stay. If your child stays at home are you prepared to change the relationship to one with an adult who you are no longer parenting? How do you allow this new beginning for all of you if the living situation remains the same? It is a critical time. If the teen remains in the same relationship with you as he or she had while in high school, they may not gain the self sufficiency and confidence they need to achieve in their own lives.
For those who are graduating college, it can be a very wonderful time for parents and students and yet it is a further loss. The student is now moving into their own life outside a structured, safe environment. Some will move further away, some will stay close to the college they attended, some will return to their home town, and some will return home. Each choice is a critical choice to your student. How do we as parents stay abreast of our student’s thoughts, desires, and dreams and continue to believe in them and to help them believe in their Self. If your student chooses to move home and does not have a career position, how do you remain in an adult relationship with them and yet remain a parent who explores and guides them? What if your student has graduated but does not like their area of study? There are many changes that can occur at his time in your child’s life. There are many solutions and resources available for them at this time.
To you all, congratulations! For you are the critical component of the success in your children and their lives.
