Homesickness at college is pretty common. Students may not often talk about it with each other, but many of them feel the effects of it. Home-cooked meals, a more regular schedule and a life where everything isn’t new and challenging may seem appealing to a new college student.

Do

• Offer support. One of the best ways to help your student is simply to acknowledge their concerns, encourage them to talk and listen to what they have to say. You can’t make the homesickness go away, but you can help your student adjust to lessen their feelings of being homesick. Listen through the tears but also spend time talking about what kinds of things he or she can do to feel less lonely and homesick.
• Be reassuring. Reassure your student when they call. Sometimes, even a brilliant, bold college student just needs to hear a familiar voice.

Don’t

• Allow too many trips home. One of the biggest mistakes parents make is letting their homesick student come home too often. Visits home every weekend can actually be detrimental to a student’s ability to conquer their homesickness. After all, a student needs to establish college as their home away from home; visits back home prevent them from doing so by keeping them from building emotional, social and intellectual connections with their school. Many of the activities that will help your child get through their feelings of homesickness occur on the weekends. It may be challenging for you, but set a weekend a month or two away when he or she can come home. That way, there’s a date your student can expect to enjoy home cooking and sleep in a familiar bed, but your son or daughter will have to find ways to pass the time until that date comes.

• Visit campus too often. You may be tempted, especially if your student lives fairly close, to go visit over the weekend. Just like too many visits home prevents a student from connecting with his or her new campus, too many visits from parents can be detrimental. Is it wrong to treat your daughter or son to a nice dinner? Absolutely not. Limit your visit and consider inviting their roommate or other school friends along. This can help your child further establish friendships and let you see who they are connecting with. The Health & Wellness Center is always available to talk with you about any questions or concerns you may have about how the adjustment to college is going for your child.