<p>I wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing this (or has experienced this).</p>
<p>We are a very close knit family. My son, who will be a freshman this fall, is excited about going to ND soon, but I know deep down he is also nervous and concerned about leaving home, etc...</p>
<p>Lately, he has been uncharacteristically "mean" towards his siblings and at times seems to be "a little short" around his mother and me. He is coming and going all the time and doesn't like to be questioned about it.</p>
<p>My theory is that this is the beginning stages of "breaking away" and is perfectly normal, but I thought I would check with some others to hear your thoughts.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Here’s the logic I used last year when I moved to another country for the summer: If you leave your family on bad terms, it makes it harder to miss them.</p>
<p>Based on what you have written above and recalling my own experience it sounds a lot like nerves and stress to me. He is probably worried about the unknown and is taking out his anxiety on family. Don’t be too surprised if come move in day he experiences the same thing. My guess is that if he does not have any brothers or sisters who have gone through a similar process that his anxiety would be more pronounced. So rather than being the “joy of breaking away” it very well could be the “fear of breaking away”.</p>
<p>We called fouling the nest.</p>
<p>Thankfully he came back fall break a delightful version of himself and has remained so.</p>
<p>Laketime and others-</p>
<p>Thanks for the post -I think you have confirmed my thinking!</p>
<p>As I recall there was a thread in the Parents Cafe, or perhaps the Parents forum addressing this exact issue. I would link, but not sure where it is now, just that it sounded very familiar.
Someone’s child became very difficult, and unusually mean at this time, leading up to the ‘send off’.</p>
<p>The same sort of thing happened to me before I left for college. My mom and I started to fight a lot more. And, the last semester before I graduated from ND this spring, one of my friends started getting really mean and pushing everyone away. I think it’s a fairly typical phenomenon, so I wouldn’t worry about it unless his attitude continues after he goes away to school.</p>