FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chicago, IL (September 05, 2014) - By mid-September many students will have headed off to college.With all of the focus on preparation, the day they leave arrives way too quickly for everyone. As soon as they’re gone, everyone is out of their comfort zone. It can be especially challenging if it’s the student’s first time away from home. Their departure can be a major milestone for the whole family as they adjust to the transition and separation.

Often this leaves parents feeling uncomfortable as their primary job of being a parent/protector has been disrupted. For some parents it may be as deep rooted as subconsciously being scared that their child may become emotionally detached resulting in a less loving and close relationship with them.

There are other more practical parental fears such as safety and well-being. Both are justifiable worries with the stress levels of college students on the rise each year.So much so that it has becomea major focus for college and university residence life departments. Stress is also known to be the number one obstacle in academic achievement. Some of the reported stress statistics among college students look like this:

1.85% of students feel stressed on a daily basis
2.84% of students reach out to friends to help them with their stress
3.77% of students feel stress over academic concerns
4.74% of students feel stress about grades
5.70% of students have never considered talking to a counselor about their stress
6.67% of students reach out to parents for help with stress
7.67% of students feel stress about financial worries
8.60% of students at some time have felt stress to the point of not being able to get work done
9.54% of students feel stress about their families
10.53% of students feel stress about relationships (College Parent Magazine)

Even with these fears, most parents know it’s not only impossible to safeguard their children from stress but it’s also a disservice in preparing them for life after college. Over the years advice for parents has changed drastically mostly out of necessity. It’s gone from “cut the cord and let them figure it out” to “keep the lines of communication going”. The difficult part becomes finding the balance between providing the support for real concerns and knowing when to step aside. Students still need to learn and experience the satisfaction of solving problems on their own while at the same time knowing they can count on their parents during a real crisis. The upside to all of this is even with the statistics mentioned above, 74% of students report that they are very happy or at least somewhat happy.

Because college parents don’t get as much face time as they’d like, and they’re trying to be mindful of the “right” amount of texts and emails to send, staying connected can be challenging. One of the best ways to maintain connection is by sending a care package. As Harlan Cohen, bestselling author of books for parents and studentswrites in “The Naked Roommate”

Whatever is happening in your child’s life, care packages make everything better . . . college students love care packages ‐ no, they are obsessed. I can’t even count how many times students mentioned the pure joy of getting a care package in the mail. If you want to increase the number of happy calls and contacts, increase the flow of care packages you send to your child. Even for busy working parents, sending a care package can be as easy as ordering from an online college care package company such as http://www.redship.com. In addition to snacks, you can even have a personalized card included in the package. One of the other magical things about care packages are they aid in the socialization process. A plethora of snacks in any dorm room draws a crowd.

So parents you don’t have to let go so quickly just loosen the reins and don’t forget to send a care package!