Sending Your Kid to College: What I Wish I Knew as a Parent

Sending a kid to college is different every single time, even when it is the same kid and the same school.

In this episode I talk through what I wish I had known as a parent dropping kids off at college, both as a mom on my third and final one and as a therapist. I get into why you should not try to be the parent you see on TikTok, why now is not the time to cram 18 years of wisdom into three weeks, and how to tell the difference between pain and discomfort when your instinct is to swoop in and fix everything.

I also get practical. The proxy permissions and FERPA forms you need signed before they turn 18 and disappear into a dorm. The university calendar dates that are actually your job to know. What to buy before you go versus what will already be picked clean off the shelves in a college town. Bank accounts, emergency money, and what happens when an ambulance bill shows up in your mailbox.

We come back to the four pillars of explicit parenting throughout: know yourself, know your relationships, be consistent and persistent, stay curious and not judgmental. Because the medical emergency kit that made one mom feel calm got her sons roasting her online, and neither one of those outcomes is about the Band-Aids.

This one is for you if you are dropping off for the first time, the third time, or the twelfth time. It is new every time.

Listen to Wonder in the Weeds wherever you get your podcasts. Also on Substack: critzking.substack.com

Cristie Ritz-King, PsyD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Get full access to Cristie Ritz-King, PsyD at critzking.substack.com/subscribe