Leave Your Teenager Free!

In today"s modern world, many teenagers ad youngsters are staying away from home for higher studies. When parents leave their teenager at a hostel, there are a few things that they have to keep in mind. The first and foremost rule is that let your children free!

While keeping in touch with family is reassuring to college students away from home, constant contact may hinder a student's development in the new environment. Today's ubiquitous cell phones and access to Twitter, Facebook and texting, may make it feel that your child has never left the house. For students, there is the ever-present possibility of an available parent at the end of a cordless tether, which has the potential to hinder the letting go process.

Today's parents have been more involved in their children's lives than generations of the past. Many parents are justly proud of the fact that their teenage children are closer to them than they had been to their own parents. But as their children head off to college, it's time to revisit the questions: "How close?" and "How involved?"

It's important for parents to support their child's growing independence and to acknowledge the transition their child is making from high school to college. Just because their son or daughter is still accessible via technology, does not mean things are the same as when they were in high school. With today's fast pace and easy access, it's tempting for parents to keep in constant touch, to check in the way they did when their children were in high school, to try to protect them from all disappointment, hurt or failure. However, to do so is to deprive them of developing a sense of confidence and competence and of taking ownership of their college experience.

Karen Levin Coburn, senior consultant in residence at Washington University in St. Louis and co-author of the best selling book, "Letting Go: A Parents Guide to Understanding the College Years" conducted this study.