<p>My parents always helped me. I’d arrive, unpack the car, and when the folks arrived, let them have y parking place. The folks brought the loft, fridge, and rocker (stuff that wouldn’t fit in a car). </p>
<p>Although, d has a very small car, we will probably still be helping her move in. In fact, we’ll be moving in 2 kids. D’s bf, who lives far enough away to fly, will be storing some items at my Ouse this summer.</p>
<p>Yes, we have helped DS all 3 years thus far. His car won’t fit everything. We make a family adventure of it - drive the 4.5 hours, help him unload, make a store run, then skedaddle out of there when he (pretty quickly) shows signs of just wanting to putter and set stuff up on his own.</p>
<p>DS doesn’t find this involvement intrusive. I think he likes it. And - believe me - he is exquisitely attuned to any whiff of helicoptering.</p>
<p>Like others here, we’ve helped our DD move in and out for two years, and we expect to continue. Maybe (like VA mom) because she’s our own or maybe because we enjoy it (it’s on the other side of the country, so it’s always an adventure).</p>
<p>We love her college town. Love to visit. We do feel guilty though. Should we help less as time wears on?</p>
<p>This past September, we ran into another set of parents staying at the same hotel at breakfast. They were helping their DD move in as well. What year, we asked? Turned out she was a graduate student. We didn’t feel so bad after that. :)</p>
<p>My parents plan on moving me in every year, since I can’t make the drive myself, and I need my car, so both parents have to go.</p>
<p>The upside for them is that I’m all packed by the time they take me home at the end of the year, so they don’t have to deal with moving out.</p>
<p>Our children don’t have cars. The one who goes to school down the road we help, and the one who is a plane ride away stores her stuff on campus and flies. It would take 4 days of gas, hotel, and missed work.</p>
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<p>There is a risk in just “dumping” a student and the student’s possessions. On some campuses, it is not safe to leave a pile of possessions unattended outside of a residence hall. They may be stolen.</p>
<p>If it is physically difficult for you to carry things up the stairs, you can still perform a useful service for your child by staying with the stuff while she unloads or just parking your car with her stuff still inside it and giving her the keys so she can lock it between trips.</p>
<p>Lol my parents didn’t even help me move in the first year. They did come up though after I was all moved in. Only did that first year though. Subsequent years they didn’t even come up the first day. I had a car on campus from day one and we only live about an hour, hour and a half from school.</p>
<p>yes, we help</p>
<p>We helped last year(sophomore) and will help again this year if D expresses a need. Siblings will probably opt out this year due to past strife during the event. I envy you who find this to be a fun, family bonding time!</p>
<p>Sent from my Eris using CC</p>
<p>No, yes, no (3 kids). One was at his faraway school over the summer and just kept his stuff there. The second was the traditional parent with car loaded up with stuff and the third drove herself there on a weekday when parents had to work.</p>
<p>Our Family Tradition is like Emaheevul’s. All our kids went to schools @ 1 hr away, and they had no cars on campus for the first 3 years, so the Tradition is to load stuff into the car(s), help unload the car, and then shopping, lunch/dinner & goodbye. Sr. year they had cars, so we only helped load the car at home and waved goodbye.</p>
<p>Kids like it and we get to help out, and everyone is happy about it. Then they are on their own until Parent’s Week-end, and/or games / and/or shows that we are invited to attend to see them play. It’s a BIG Bonus for all of us I think that they all chose schools close by.</p>
<p>It’s been a tradition that we are happy to hear our youngest will continue.</p>
<p>DD19 just finished her sophomore year. We live about an hour away from her school. She asked me to drive up to school with her and help her decorate and put together her room. What it ended up being is me sitting on the bed while she did all the work. I was there for her to bounce decorating ideas off of and to chit chat. It was a lovely time. DH said good bye at home, because he knew we’d take forever and there was no way he cared about which picture went on which wall. I imagine I will help her move in the next 2 years also (or I will be available if she wants me to help)</p>
<p>Old fort: so have we and the blades are getting a bit rusty! FWIW, all three older children graduated, live out of the area and are doing very well so we didn’t “harm” them permanently…</p>
<p>The youngest one will head back on his own sophmore year. Surprisingly, he’s got a highly developed sense of independence that we managed not to thwart…and we are enjoying our empty nest as a result!</p>
<p>DD’s school is a 17 hour drive away. She’s finishing up her 2nd year this spring. We have helped with the move both years. She has a car at school during the school year so DH or I have driven with her to school in the fall & flown back home. We reverse the process for the return trip in the spring. Everything she brings has to fit in her small Civic.</p>
<p>Our D will be a sophomore next year. I anticipate she will ask us to help her drive her stuff to school (which is only about a half hour away) because she has a small car. She would have to make multiple trips with her car. Once we get everything in her room, she will probably tell us goodbye so she can get everything set up herself. I remember how heart wrenching it was last August. Sigh.</p>