The stress doesn’t just end after kids graduate from high school.
Many— most?— high schoolers will experience some stress both before going to college and once they are there.
Guilty mother: Wow, I can’t believe in just one month/week/day, you’ll be at college. How exciting!
Her, secretly: I’m scared.
In hindsight, I should have been more attuned to her concerns about moving 5 hours away from home for the next four years at the ripe old age of 17.
Once they begin college, there will be a ton of stressors from their friends on social media.
Everyone will post pics and updates about their amazing new friends, and red solo cups galore! Everyone is having a great time! Except your kid, who feels they should be like their friends, who have all found their new bff’s. Most kids do understand that social media is largely fake, but it definitely adds pressure.
Help your kid understand that it may not be smooth sailing at the start and that this transition in their lives may be bumpy. In a few months, I guarantee some parents on this forum will seek out this long running thread: