Early Priorities

Work/life balance

When students leave University early, work/life imbalance is probably the decisive factor in more than nine cases out of ten. It’s not just about study/life balance. Nowadays, most students have some paid work to take into the equation too. The classic mistake is to spend too much time socialising (aka drinking, see below); but there are also students who get overwhelmed by worry about their work. This is a fundamental conversation to have with your child.

Top tips for work/life balance:

  • work first, play later – you’ll have a better time;
  • look first at other ways of balancing your budget than taking a part-time job;
  • plan exercise into your time schedule – lack of exercise directly affects your sense of wellbeing;
  • when you’re out on the  town,  think mellow, not blotto.

Budgeting

Financial problems follow work/life imbalance as night follows day. The loan cheque arrives and it’s probably a sum of money which your child has never had access to before: it looks limitless. The classic mistake is to blow it in the first few weeks; but there are three months of term ahead and that tempting four-figure sum in the bank account can turn from black to red in the blink of an eye.

Probably, you will have been doing some of this training throughout the teenage years: but it’s a whole new ball game now. Let’s face it, you are very likely to be funding this enterprise to some extent. So, for your sake and theirs, try to help your child to plan ahead. 

Top tips for budgeting:

  • make a written budget and keep track of your spending;
  • if you’re wondering about having a credit card, don’t;
  • stick with your existing mobile provider; 
  • if you’re wondering about bringing a car to University, don’t;
  • look first at other ways of balancing your budget than taking a part-time job.

These last two are probably the most controversial: but University Support Services regularly meet students who seem to be travelling to their part-time work in their car, so that they can earn enough money...to pay for the car. What's the point?

Contact details

Make sure that you have reliable means of being in contact with your child at University.

  • Have at least two ways of getting in touch: don’t just rely on a mobile.
    • This may sound like overkill; but the time when you might really want to be in touch is the time when your child’s life is going haywire – and that’s exactly when they’ll forget to charge up the phone or be too broke to put credit on it, or whatever.
  • Make sure your child has reliable contact details for you at all times.
  • Make sure you know who to ring at the University.
    • Sometimes, your contact - or lack of contact - with your child may leave you worried. If you become seriously concerned, you should ring the Student Support Department.

Contacting the University should really be a last resort. The same is true for us. At age 18 your child has all the rights of an adult, including the right to confidentiality; so we could only contact you in extreme circumstances..

Beyond that, the ordinary truth of a parent’s life still applies: all you can do is keep the channels open and hope they’ll use them when they need to.