Advice to Parents
Your student's health…
We all know how important it is for college students to stay healthy during the busy, stressful school year. We do our best to encourage students to stay healthy, and here are some ways you can encourage your student to keep him or herself healthy:
- Balance your hobbies and interests with your academic responsibilities.
- Get yourself into a fairly regular sleep pattern.
- Stay connected with family and old friends while also meeting new folks.
- Don't rely on all-nighters and cramming to get you through.
- Find ways to get outside of the campus bubble to keep things in perspective.
- Eat a balanced mix of healthy foods in the cafeteria.
- Work out and/or move around on a regular basis
- Reach out other others and develop solid friendships.
- Make smart choices about alcohol and other drugs.
- Give time to good causes.
- Renew your spirit in ways that feel right, whether its out in nature, in a place of worship or elsewhere.
- Make your well-being a top priority.
Sleep - Encourage your child not to “mess with” their healthy sleep patterns. Remind them that not getting enough sleep can:
- Play with your memory—tired people have a harder time remembering things.
- Cause tasks to take twice as long—your concentration and powers of retention will be compromised when you're sleepy.
- Make you irritable—you'll say or do something you regret when you're tired.
- Impact your health—you're more susceptible to colds, the flu, and more when you're tired.
- Affect how you look—your eyes are brighter, your skin is clearer and your body has more energy when you get good regular sleep.
Encourage them to make it a top priority!!!
STRESS! College students are often stressed and must find ways to appropriately reduce and control that stress. Encourage your child to use these stress reduction techniques to provide a sense of relief.
- Relax your neck and shoulders
- Stretch your body
- Get a massage
- Exercise
- Count to ten and breathe
- Congratulate yourself on what you've accomplished
- Perform daily stress self-maintenance
- Meditate
- Pray
- Remember your purpose
- Take a break
- Get hug therapy
- Laugh
- Learn something new
- Practice a hobby
Sexuality - When you engage your child in a discussion about sexual health and healthy relationships before they leave for college, make sure to discuss what your family's values and morals are concerning sexual activity and relationships. You may choose to encourage your student to educate themselves regarding contraception and abstinence, in reference to your family values. Being educated about sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, and the value of practicing abstinence will help your student make more informed choices.
You can also encourage your student to write down their thoughts and intentions about sexuality, in addition to discussing it as a family. This should be for him or her alone to read. They should ask themselves: Have you taken the time to sort out your own and your family's values about sexual activity? The act of writing may help them organize their thoughts. Committing the values to paper may also help them live by them when faced with tough decisions.
Diet and Exercise - Encouraging your student to eat a balanced diet and get plenty of exercise will help them stay healthy and relieve stress!
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
- Eat a balanced diet.
- Eat those not-so-healthy foods like pizza, fries, and ice cream in moderation.
- Work your body at least three times per week. Head down to the fitness center or the fieldhouse!
- Get up and do something active with your friends whenever possible.
- Make sure to stretch and try some of the stress relief activities above!
