Parents' Guide: What to do when they leave
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Your support makes all the difference.Make time to talk about what a son or daughter going away to university means for the family
Establish ground rules for what to do in a crisis; how to keep in touch
Do not jump to conclusions about changes in lifestyle
Compare notes with other parents who are in the same position. You are not alone
Re-evaluate your own lifestyle - it may be a good time to retrain, take up a new hobby or go back to an old one. You may decide to go back to full-time employment or to travel abroad
Do not make major changes in lifestyle or to the home without also talking it through with the absent son or daughter
View your child's going to university, not as the end of parenting, but as another stage, like the first day at school or the first day in the sixth form
If you have real worries try contacting the university counselling service
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