Rule #1: the buddy system. The single best safety measure IMO is to always travel with a friend or group of friends. And as they said in TopGun, never leave your wingman. However, this can be difficult during the first few weeks of college.
It’s not always the case that newly arrived freshmen are babes when it comes to alcohol. Many come to college with some drinking and partying experience in high school. But up until now, it’s always been within the context of a trusted group of buddies they’ve known since 9th grade or even since kindergarten. It’s a whole different scenario when you are at your first party at college and you barely know the guys on the floor that you came with and you have no idea yet how dependable they are. I believe this is the reason why the first 6 weeks of college are the most dangerous.
- As mentioned, the need for Bed Rails in lofted beds. If your child has a lofted bed when they get to school, talk to housing to get a rail. I would not rely on the kid. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1911839-bunk-and-loft-bed-dangers.html My friend recently told me his son fell out of his lofted bed as well (but was not seriously injured unlike the student in the post above.)
- Make sure they know how to order any medications they are taking
- Make sure they know how to use an ATM
- Make sure they know how to wash their clothes.
- Make sure they know how to send a letter.
- Have them get Uber/Lyft on their phones and tell them you will pay for it in an emergency
- Let them know that sometimes things don't go right at college (grades, arrests, plagiarism)...but if they let you know you can help them through it.
As far as alcohol goes that really depends on the kid…
I had friends whose parents let them drink in high school and the kids and parents partied together…their drinking and partying and going wild continued in college. I know kids who were never allowed near alcohol and their parents never drank and they went crazy too…
My parents occasionally allowed me and my siblings sips, but they never partied with us or bought us a six pack to share with our friends. And they certainly never hosted a party at their house where they let me and my friends drink. I never went crazy in college…my parents were my parents not my friends. Then again, I am an introvert, I don’t like parties. I’ve always been that way…
I do think it is important to mention safety and common sense. If you sound like you’re lecturing, sending them some articles to read may be a good idea. Also, to keep the discussion short and to keep their attention, don’t talk about everything all at once. Talk about drinking one day and general safety the next…
While “don’t do stupid stuff” is definitely good advice, it’s interesting to contemplate where you draw the limits as to what you deem to be a bad idea and advise against. I did lots of dangerous sports in college (notably climbing, caving and mountaineering) and there were multiple occasions when I could have been seriously injured or even died with a minor misstep. Four or five friends ended up with broken bones, including my best man, one guy I knew less well died in a fall after college.
However even though I would be worried, I wouldn’t discourage my kids from doing similar sports. And a bunch of my D’s college friends go climbing (on much bigger cliffs than I ever did), so it wouldn’t surprise me if she went too next semester.
I think it is s good idea for parents to check themselves and see if they can separate irrational fears from genuine fears…this is the opposite of putting you head in the sand and believing “my kid never would…” so a little parental balance is a good thing too.