Things They Need To Know Before They Go - 3

·               Manners matter – Smiling, saying please and thank you, and generally being pleasant and courteous to people around him will take your child farther than a 4.0 GPA. Manners have less to do with which fork to use at a formal dinner, and more to do with treating everyone kindly and with respect.

·               College students will fail at times. Keep trying anyway – College is competitive. There will be many times when your child doesn’t earn the grades he wants, or isn’t selected as a committee Vice President, or is rejected by a love interest. Remind him that it’s okay to be sad - for a little while. Then, encourage him to take a deep breath and get back in the game.

·               Mistakes are some of the best teachers – Think of where you would be if you’d never tried anything new or made any mistakes. Think of how dull life would be. This is an important lesson for your child to learn as well and experience is the best teacher, so allow him the freedom to take some educated risks and make mistakes. If he’s never been allowed to fail, he’s going to have a hard time telling you that he did and may lie or hide his failure. Let him know that the only failure comes from not learning from one’s mistakes.