Home Alone: What parents go through when kids go off to school

Monday, September 01, 2008

Hundreds of thousands of parents are flooding college campuses, decorating dorm rooms, eating lunch at the student union and driving back to an emptier home-- for the first time. To talk through the mix of emotions that parents are experiencing, and the best way to prepare for this life-changing event, we turn to family psychiatrist Alan Manevitz. And for context we check in with Sandra Markt-Reardon. She’s just driven her last kid off to college.

Dr. Allan Manevitz, Family psychiatrist, at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He’s been treating parents and students facing this emotional ride. Sandra Markt-Reardon, who drove her son to college over the weekend. He is the last kid to leave home.

Contributors:

Chelsea Merz

Comments [1]

Evelyn C.

About 3 weeks after we took the oldest of our 2 delightful daughters off to college, I asked my husband why we were all (the college freshman included) handling it so well. He said, "Because from the time they were 2, we told them (and I would add, and ourselves) that this day was coming." We parents get to love them to pieces and hopefully give them the right mix of "roots and wings".

Sep. 01 2008 10:25 PM

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