3 Tips to Prepare Your Child for Higher Education

Is your child going off to study at university? Are you as nervous as they are? This is a big step for parents and kids alike, so they'll need all the support from you that they can get. Interested to hear more? Here are some simple things you can do to help your child prepare for higher education.

Teach Them About Finances

Presumably your child hasn't yet had a lot of experience with being responsible for their own expenses and holding large amounts of money. It's going to make it a lot easier for both of you if they learn about finances quickly, and there are several ways you can go about teaching them. For example, you can give them the responsibility of researching how to finance higher education themselves. Let them know that they can take out a student loan from a private lender in order to finance their degree, but have them find one and make the applications themselves, with minimal help and guidance from you. Teaching them how to budget might also be a way to go about things, and if they have anything nonessential, they want to buy, let them finance it themselves. They can save up or get a job, as that's how they're going to be doing things in the future anyway, so get them used to the fact that you won't always provide for them.

Prepare Them for Living Independently

If your child is going to be moving out of the house to attend college, do them a big favor by teaching them how to perform all the basic chores involved in adult life. Maybe they're used to cleaning their own room or filling up the dishwasher, but do they know how to do laundry, change light bulbs, and cook their own food? Have a think about the responsibilities they've had in the past and figure out where their blind spots are. Don't be judgmental, but teach them how to do these things. Additionally, let them take care of themselves more. Even if they learn these skills, they might be inclined to not use them if they expect you to do what you always have. They might complain now, but they'll thank you later.

Help Them Make Their Choices

This is probably the biggest decision your child will have made so far, and it can be pretty daunting for a teenager to have to settle on a college major or career path. Even what college to go to might be terrifying to think of. Support your child in all these decisions, without pressuring them to do what you think would be best. Lend an ear to their questions and doubts and give them your best advice. Offer some tips of what and where they might want to study based on their needs and interests, and help them research degrees and colleges and compare the pros and cons of the ones they're interested in. Going to open days with your child is a great step, but plenty of this can be done through some online research, and sometimes all you need to do is listen to what options they're considering and what their thought process is.