<p>"You may have treated your college kid like a guest over the Thanksgiving break, but that sleeping-till-2 p.m. thing is going to get old real fast." Can you say AMEN?</p>
<p>Nope, my son is on the quarter system - only home for three weeks and will be back at school January 2nd. It’s his three weeks to do with what he wants (well, within reason). Because starting January 3rd thru June 10th - he only has one week off for Spring Break. That back to back Winter / Spring quarter is a killer.</p>
<p>Today he woke up at 10:30 - that’s not too bad :)</p>
<p>My daughter has plans to see 6 shows (Broadway and off-Broadway) during break, beginning last night and ending Tuesday, most with friends both from college and from high school. Husband is very upset that she’s not home, he had planned activities for us all. I’m happy that most of her plans are now, before younger daughter is off from school. Once we’re all more free we can plan on activities together. Husband can’t have it both ways - want the kid to be “popular” and still be home for him!</p>
<p>But yes, she does sleep until, well, let’s just say she’s still asleep and it’s almost 11!</p>
<p>My college had a J-Term in between semesters, so we had basically 5 weeks of winter break. Only my first year did I spend all five weeks at home, and thank goodness I had a job to go to every day or my parents and I would have killed each other. Trust me, it gets tiring for your kids too. </p>
<p>After that, I would come home for the two weeks of actual Christmas Break and then go back to Smith for the 3 weeks of J-term. I would usually work on campus or just relax for three weeks, though you have the option of taking classes while you’re on campus it’s not required.</p>
<p>Their sleep schedule sure messes up our meal schedule too! I was worried about this because added to the normal late night routine all college students have, is the time difference in our case. We live on the East Coast and D is in school on the West Coast. But for her, the trick was finding a good reason to get up relatively early. D’s summer job offered her work over her break, and while she was reluctant, the pay was good enough that she decided to do it for just a few hours each day. BUT she was able to arrange to start work later in the morning than usual. Otherwise, she would have had to wake up at 4:30AM CA time in order to be in the office by 9 AM EST. </p>
<p>I am extremely thankful!!!</p>
<p>We own a business and our employee schedules his vacation during the college winter break so our kids can cover for him. So, they’ll be working a few hours every day and spending the rest of their time sleeping, eating, and bringing a little chaos into the house.</p>
<p>I try to be somewhat quiet until 10 a.m. That’s my cut-off. Anyone sleeping past then does so at their own risk! I’m much more worried about my H having too many days off then my sons being home.</p>
<p>Quarter system here too. D getting caught up on sleep and friends. Did not get to spoiler her at Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>My kids work 25-30 hours/wk during winter break so they’ll have extra spending money for spring…no one likes to work more than 8-10/wk when classes are in session. This year D will also be taking a psych class over break to offload her spring schedule and will probably do more shadowing. She might get to sleep in a few days if the scheduling gods are smiling on her.</p>
<p>My daughter signed up for some shifts as a lifeguard at the Y where she worked last summer. Told me that she has 3 shifts where she’ll have to open which means she has to be there to start working at 4:45 a.m. Y is all the way across town so she’ll have to leave the house by 4:15. I’ll be worried about her out driving that early and will probably be awakened when she gets up and then not be able to go back to sleep. What is wrong with my kid???</p>
<p>This is an article I read last year on this site. It should be framed, emailed to every parent who has a kid coming home from college, put on any site possible. Great for a laugh and a genuine understanding of that long break…
[Kids</a> home on college break: Homo studentus universitatus season is winding to a close - Chicago Tribune](<a href=“A peek at the winter habits of homo studentus universitatus”>A peek at the winter habits of homo studentus universitatus)</p>
<p>This will be the last break D1 will have with us, so it won’t be long enough. We will have her for 3 weeks, so she could do whatever she wants. She is a good kid, whenever she is home she always makes sure she is home for dinner so she could see me. She would then go meet up with her friends when Mommie goes to bed. She is also the only person who would watch Lifetime TV with me. Just in case if you couldn’t tell, I am going to miss her when she is working and only has few weeks of vacation time.</p>
<p>^Great article fourkidsmom! We have captured one of the species today, expect to corral another from a study abroad program over the weekend, and have a rare sighting of the elusive Alumnus Distanticus next week. I expect to feel just like the Nature Channel filming fights over the car keys, watering hole (bathroom), and dog walking soon…just like the good old days!</p>
<p>Great article from last January’s Chicago Tribune. Been there, done that- the article brought back memories. Reflections-</p>
<p>Parents of returning sophomores (those of freshmen don’t know what will come)- the returning student actually evolves. A real change occurs once they have been in an apartment more than a year. It is nicer for both parents and child when they have a place they can return to regardless of the school season- being home becomes a choice, not a necessity. The parent-child roles change. They also seem more considerate as they age. Maybe it helps to have done the letting go of the old family model- no expectation leftovers lingering from HS days. Somewhere along the way childhood disappears and you are relating to a young adult. Of course, the adult still retains the personality of the child so much stays the same.</p>
<p>I go home December 22nd and have to be back January 3, so I don’t get much time off at all. During that time I will probably sleep all night and half the day, then spend the evenings with my parents. If it were a longer break it would be different, I would probably be up every morning and out in the snow volunteering at the humane society, but I need to recover from the last month or I will crash before winter midterms. </p>
<p>For the most part everyone in my family spends the day keeping to themselves anyway, so the fact that I will be wanting attention and help with the christmas baking in the evenings will probably be an unwelcome intrusion. With my mom working in the living room and sister working in the kitchen, I am usually banished to my bedroom the moment I get home. So no one should mind if I sleep all day.</p>
<p>ı want to sleep this holiday but ıt doesnt seem to be possible because ı have school homework and chemical engineering is very difficult ı have to read something about chemical reactions…</p>
<p>Like oldfort, my D is home for her last break. Got her (late) last night. Son comes from his home in Europe on Monday. It is the last time we will be together before he marries and she graduates. Lots of family time planned. Since D already has a job secured, it will really be a great time.</p>
<p>I never fill up my gas tank, as it just gets consumed by the children, if they fall “short” they have to pony up!</p>
<p>I don’t mind the sleeping all day since I’m at work anyway. I used to mind the coming home at 1, 2, or 3 o’clock in the morning, but I’ve trained myself to go to sleep and not worry.</p>
<p>I told DS that he has to come up with a list of places to apply for summer internships and work on a resume during the break.
Am I being naive? DS is a freshman – we’ve never done this before.</p>