As a parent of a soon-to-be high school graduate or of the one already graduated, you know a thing or two about being there for your kids. While the days of your child's first steps may seem like only yesterday, it is now time to begin thinking about that "next step" in his/her education.

Now that your student is looking at colleges, you may find yourself thinking: Who will continue to nurture my child? Will my child be safe? Will he/she continue to receive the attention he/she needs and deserves? Since going to college is another "giant leap" in life, your concerns are very valid.

Nothing can replace the love and support that you have selflessly given your child over the years. No professor, administrator or student can fill the shoes of a good parent. At Key2Careers College, we provide young adults with nurturing and support of a different kind. Where there were once words of assurance from parents, there will now be words of reassurance from faculty, administrators and staff. Key2Careers provides a caring environment so students can grow in their intellect and confidence.

Sending a child off to college is a major family event. The young adult who returns after the first year of college is not likely to be same as the one whom you will leave on the first day of orientation. Students are changed by the learning they grapple with, by interactions with new people, and by the developmental tasks appropriate to their age. The literature suggests the following developmental tasks:

• separation, differentiation and emancipation from the family
• formation of a sense of one's own identity
• examination and clarification of one's ethical and moral values
• achievement of the ability to take care of oneself
• establishment of a satisfactory sexual identity and formation of intimate relationships
• choice of career or work role

The role of the college student in the family will be different. While students still maintain their identity as your son or daughter, they will also exert independence and define themselves as independent people. They will expect you to treat them as adults, more as equals than as children. They may be testing new values. They may be full of the knowledge they have gained and think by contrast that you haven't grown. Trying to take care of themselves may mean that they won't share as much with you or expect you to help them out as you once did. Of course, their need for extra money or the use of your car probably won't change!

Your family, without the day-to-day interaction with this particular child, will also be changed. You will develop new routines that may suggest to the student that they don't belong anymore. Other siblings will assume roles that your student may feel belongs to him or her. You, too, will grow. New stories will be told that don't include this student. Some families move, and some divorce, creating a sense of instability and loss or even a sense of guilt for the child who has been away.

Some parents leave their student at the front door and figuratively don't look back, leaving the student to fend for him/herself. Other parents continue to take care of all of the needs of their student, including filling out housing forms and running interference whenever the student faces a problem. We, of course, hope you will be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Our students need the continued support of their parents. They need to rely on your wisdom as they struggle to make their own decisions. They need your love when problems occur. They need your prodding as they seek balance among the many opportunities available to them. Our students also need to make decisions for themselves and struggle with the complexities of living within a community. They may need to falter and stumble and be frustrated as they find their own way through academic decisions and personal decisions and enhance their sense of social responsibility. Sometimes you will need to let them work through these decisions using college resources instead of family resources. Letting go will enable your student to fully grow and develop into the mature adult you want him or her to become.