Preparing Your Anxious Teen For College
We see it coming every year. Our phones ring off the hook when spring time is on the horizon, as parents wonder how to prepare their anxious teen for college. Heading off to school can be an exciting time! But all of those new responsibilities, freedom, and big changes can also be overwhelming. We want to make sure that your teen is as prepared as possible!
Why is it important to start getting your teen ready for college now?
You might be thinking that you have plenty of time to ensure your teen is prepared for college. It’s only March! Your teen isn’t set to be on campus until mid August. What’s the rush?
Well, if you have an anxious teen, you know that preparing for something sooner rather than later is always a good idea. Having proper support in place early on, will make the transition for your teen seem more doable and approachable. Not to mention, it will also help lessen the overwhelm when they have an idea of what to expect and the change isn’t happening all at one time.
It’s also a good idea to focus on why your teen needs to prepare for college - it comes down to our mental and emotional readiness.
Going from a structured environment to a more loose environment can be scary when all you’ve ever known is a set schedule. This is all the more overwhelming when you don’t have the support of the same friends you’ve spent the last 4 years in class with. Learning to prioritize your time, complete assignments and meet new people is a lot of change for anyone to go through! So, it’s important to be in communication with your teen and help them learn to cope in healthy ways.
Setting expectations now will help your teen feel ready when they take on these new challenges.
It also helps them recognize when they might be experiencing anxiety and overwhelm so they can reach out and ask for help. And as a parent, it can be just as overwhelming not knowing how your child is dealing with these new changes in their life. And that’s okay! Preparing now, will help ease that worry for both you and your teen.
So, what can you do to help them prepare?
We know that teens really benefit from learning actual, critical skills to manage anxiety and overwhelm. This is as true for general anxiety as it is for college readiness. So, we wanted to give you some important information, which is why we reached out to several high school counselors in the area!
Over the next couple of weeks, we will feature interviews with these counselors who shared their experiences working with high schoolers as they made their transition to college. They’ve seen the anxiety first hand and have worked to prepare their students for exactly what your teen is going through now. With their expertise, we hope you can feel more confident about how best to approach college readiness with your teen! So, make sure you stay tuned!
Lauren Goldberger is the administrative assistant for Compassionate Counseling St. Louis. She is working towards receiving her MSW and is bringing her interest and excitement in the field to this role.
Curious to learn more about college readiness for teens? Wondering if your teen needs to meet with a therapist to discuss coping skills to manage their anxiety? Compassionate Counseling St. Louis works with kids, teens and college students throughout the St. Louis area. You can schedule your free phone right on our website, to talk more about logistics, next steps, and set up an initial appointment with a trained therapist.