This week on Parenting, one mother of a recent Leaving Cert graduate asked if her son is prepared enough for college.

“Our son worked really hard and managed to do enough to get the points he wanted, which means he’ll be getting the course he wants and moving to Dublin for college,” she told Moncrieff.

“He’s a responsible lad and a very hard worker but as a parent, what can I do to prepare him for this next chapter?

“Most of his friends will be staying nearer to home but he will be moving up to Dublin so he’ll need to make new friends and fend for himself a bit more without that social support.

“He knows the basics of cooking and cleaning, I hope, but can we do anything at this stage?

“I want him to know the doors are always open and along with the pressure of college, he should be enjoying himself too.”

Students are seen on the campus of Trinity College Dublin in March 2016. Picture by: Sergio Azenha / Alamy Stock Photo

Family psychotherapist Joanna Fortune said the transition from secondary school to college can be difficult for both parents and students to adjust to.

“Even if he was staying at home, there would be a lot more personal responsibility, self-regulation, managing your own workload,” she said.

“Nobody’s chasing them for homework like they did in secondary school; so a whole lot of kids are going to be facing a huge transition now.

“The other thing in this though that really jumps out to me is it’s not just a big step for kids making this transition, it’s a massive step up for parents.”

'We have to let them wobble'

According to Joanna, adjusting to the transition requires both sides to “take a leap of faith”.

“When this parent in this letter here is talking about how responsible he is, how hardworking he is and then saying, ‘What can I do to prepare him?’, I just want to say you have prepared him,” she said.

“That’s why he’s so responsible and hardworking.

“You’ve prepared him for this and we have to trust that what we’ve done for our children to get them this far is going to stand to them.

“That doesn’t mean they’re going to walk out of the door into college and be nailing independent life, but we also have to let them wobble.”

Joanna said that the best any parents in this situation can do is to be on standby if their children call them looking for advice.

Main image: Schull College Junior Cert students celebrate receiving their results. Credit: Andy Gibson/Alamy Live News.