For parents and their daughter or son, the process of moving away from the family home can be difficult on many levels, in both emotional, financial and practical terms. A particular issue that exercises many parents is how to pitch the level of their involvement in decisions that their daughter or son is making.
Many things young people experience on the learning curve of life may be difficult for you as a parent to witness and they can leave you in a quandary as to how much you should intervene. It may also be difficult to sort out their problems for them as your child has become a young adult and is now legally responsible for their own decisions and the consequences of how they live.
With this change of legal status - from minority to majority - many organisations and agencies and representatives of them will no longer provide you with personal information or discuss your child’s affairs with you.
An accommodation agreement can be the most expensive purchase that your child will make during the year. They are likely to be living with other students as a group and the behaviour of each of them can affect the others.
Here are some things that you can do to prepare your child for living in a socially responsible way:
- Talk them through how to budget and how much financial support you can give them during the year
- Ensure they know how to cook
- Ensure they know what cleaning products to use for which surfaces and the importance of keeping up with cleaning – many deposit deductions are to do with rooms being left in an unacceptable condition
You can support your son or daughter by providing level-headed advice on how to approach problems they are experiencing and directing them to the right sources of support and assistance.
The information and guidance collected here should be of some use to you. You may also find wider exploration our website of benefit.