For the hardworking parents out there, here is probably what happened to the last 18 years of your life. When you welcomed your precious baby into this world, you probably sat back and savored that unforgettable moment in your head. Then you opened your eyes and all you see is your kid packing up his or her bags and about to head to college. Now it is the time to allow the baby to explore and experience the world, a time to let the baby make mistakes and learn from it, so allow me to introduce you the concept of letting go.
Some parents just aren’t ready to let go of their children when they head off to college, but some wish it would happen sooner. Most parents feel a sense of loss after seeing their children leave for college. Some parents are just not confident that their kids can handle surviving in college alone. It is almost like the parents woke up on the wrong side of the bed the day when they send their kids off to college. Now, I understand kids’ regular contributions to leaving the house a mess is very notorious, but after all the things considered, after all these years of teaching the kids what to do, kids should know what to do.
Learning to let go is one of the last phases of parenting. It is also the most important phase. First, parents have to understand that you taught your kids the best you could do, you have done the best job you could do with them. You have given responsibility at a young age, you compliment when your kids did the right things and disciplined them when they messed up. Now it is time to let your kids go out and make you proud by executing the great things you had taught them. It is time for you to place complete trust in your children that they can handle the real world, and take off your crowns as king and queen of Helicopter Parent kingdom.
Letting go is not supposed to be easy, you can still do your crying ritual. But it is the best graduation gift you can give them because it gives your kids a chance to explore the world for themselves, and gives confidence that you are their biggest supporter. Isn’t that what parenthood is all about?