The first thing you can do is support your child and let them know how proud you are of them. Tell them how much you love them and how you admire your teen completing high school. Ask them how they feel about graduating. Are they excited? Nervous? Give your teen the feedback they need to feel good about their upcoming transition. You can even share stories about what it was like for you to leave home. How did you feel, and what was college like for you? Your child will appreciate your support and advice.
You can also prepare them for moving out of the house by helping them set goals. What are five things your teen wants to be able to do before they leave home? Do they struggle with cooking or keeping things tidy? Is it difficult for them to keep a schedule? Help them learn how to accomplish these tasks. Brainstorm solutions to these issues with your teen, and write out a timetable for when to tackle each problem. Encourage your teen to stay on track with these goals. You can even work out a reward system with them. Keeping their room tidy for a week means you both go out for ice cream. If your teen cooks for two weeks, then you take them out to dinner. Rewards will help them be excited about their goals and help them succeed.
After that, you can let yourself acknowledge how hard this is for you. Let yourself feel sad about this new, difficult life change. You can express to your teen how much you will miss them. But for emotional support, reach out to a good friend or a professional. Your teen has a lot going on at this time, and you don’t want to stress them out too much. A friend or therapist is much better equipped to help you deal with your emotions. And you’ll feel grateful for another adult’s perspective on this issue.
You may be worried about dealing with graduation in the middle of a pandemic. COVID-19 has made everything in our lives more difficult. With social distancing and mandatory mask wearing, staying connected with loved ones is proving to be a huge challenge. Your teen may be concerned about leaving home during a pandemic, or you may have trouble finding someone to talk to about your own struggles. Thankfully, modern technology can help alleviate some of these issues. You can your teen can reach out to their prospective schools and find out what they are doing to help slow the spread of the virus and make housing safe for students. If you need someone to talk with, you can always reach out to loved ones via social media. Instagram, Facebook, and similar platforms are also an effective way to stay in touch with your graduate once they leave home.
Finally, you should celebrate your teen’s graduation by sending out announcements. Not only will it be fun for your graduate to take grad photos and personalize announcements, it’s a great way to keep in touch with people during COVID. Get pictures of them in their graduation robe, either by hiring a professional photographer, or just using your phone. Your teen can choose the photos they like best to go on their announcements. If you don’t know where to order the cards, try Basic Invite. All of their designs are customizable, so your teen can make sure their custom graduation invites look perfect. I love their graduation invitation designs, be sure to check them out.
Despite the heartache of seeing your teen move on to new things, I hope you are also excited for them. Celebrate this new life change by sending out grad announcements, helping your child set goals, and telling them how proud you are. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a friend and talk about your struggles through this as well. You’ll feel better after talking things through. Remember to cherish every moment right now, while you can. Congratulations to you and your grad!
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