Transition Fever Peaks for Parents, Teens, in January

Jan. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Indications of a strong link between how parents cope with the college transition and their children’s adjustment to college itself led a social psychologist and veteran parent educator  to produce the first on-line self-help program for parents of college-bound teenagers.
“Ready to Launch: Parenting Teens Through the College Transition,” is an interactive 8-lesson course focusing on psychological challenges for parents as well as practical strategies for navigating a critical period in family life. “Transition fever reaches a peak in January,” says Jane Adams, Ph.D., whose books and research focus on relationships between parents and young adults.  “Once the applications are in the mail, separation and identity issues intensify in both generations, heightening tension in the family. For some parents, especially boomers who’ve been deeply involved in the application process, the realization that their kids are not only going to leave, but also leave them behind, can feel like abandonment.”
“Ready to Launch”  addresses increased demands for autonomy, dwindling interest in academics and distancing behavior as senior year progresses as well as parents’ psychological upheaval during a difficult period in married life. “Research indicates that how parents cope when kids leave has the strongest effect on adjustment to college,” says Dr. Adams. “For parents, whether kids go right to college or defer for a gap year, the issues are the same: Changing how they parent and relate to their kids, wondering if they’ve done a good job raising them, and worrying about their physical, sexual and emotional safety.”
Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed., who founded her web-based parenting information site in 2007, adds, “Launching teens into college is one of the most stressful parenting periods, yet it’s barely mentioned on the web and just a footnote in most of the popular parenting books.  We saw a need for specific information and designed “Ready to Launch” to fill it.”  The course, which costs $75, is free to accredited college counselors; more information is available at www.pricelessparenting.com and www.launchintocollege.com.

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About www.launchintocollege.com and www.pricelessparenting.com. We're a joint venture created to market the first on-line course for parents of college-bound teenagers - a social psychologist and best-selling author (Jane Adams, Ph.D.) and veteran parent educator (Kathy Slattengren M.E) who created her successful site three years ago.