I always believed that Hallmark was responsible for creating June’s catchy marketing moniker “Dads and Grads.” Just as Father’s Day gifts have thankfully moved beyond standard-issue ties, so too, can graduates expect something more creative than a Cross Pen or an oversized dictionary. Grad gift choices...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER College students are homeward-bound. For many freshmen, it will be their first visit back since packing up last August. Thanksgiving, the uber-American family togetherness holiday, can be equally tough for parents and their college students. Parents often feel that they’re traveling on a tightrope...
by LEE BIERER It’s a tough tightrope out there, and well-intentioned parents are often hurting more than they’re helping. Parents behaving badly – it happens all the time in the college admissions process. Striving for balance is key. Moms and dads on both ends of the parental spectrum...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER A student piles up belongings on drop-off day. Photo courtesy of USC Beaufort How many Facebook posts have you seen over the last few weeks where families are sharing their pride and angst as they drop their children off at college for the first...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by Wofford College/Mark Olencki The parade of freshman drop-off days continues. Before the often-teary ride home, parents feel compelled to impart tidbits of wisdom and life lessons, plus pleas for a balanced diet and a reasonable amount of sleep. What is the one thing most...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Dorm life can work a little more smoothly by planning ahead for essentials. File photo I am sure it has been a scene repeated recently at stores everywhere: the annual trip with parents to outfit a dorm room. The lists from department and specialty stores...
College students are homeward-bound. For many freshmen it will be their first visit back since packing up last August. Thanksgiving, the uber-American family togetherness holiday, can be equally tough for parents and their college students. Parents often feel that they’re traveling on a tightrope of unpredictable...
The first “letting go” is usually that tearful pre-school or kindergarten goodbye. Fast-forward 12+ years and now you’re saying goodbye to a college freshman. Karen Levin Coburn, author of “Letting Go” describes the transition to college as a “mixture of anticipation and anxiety, a sense of...
Used to be that parents packed up the station wagon, drove their son or daughter to college, unloaded the boxes, made their bed, kissed them goodbye, shed a few tears and headed home. Today, colleges cater to parents with comprehensive, multi-day orientation programs. Whether this relatively...
COUNTDOWN TO COLLEGE By Lee Shulman Bierer There is no prep course for being the parent of a college applicant. Most of us feel like we’re out there, hanging on, with a frame of reference that is about 30 years old. The bad news is most of...
