The time leading up to your teen’s college journey can be a whirlwind of excitement, stress, and countless to-dos.
Here are five ways a pre-college bucket list can help the two of you savor this unique season and connect, reflect, and create memories that will last long after college drop-off day.
1. Reinforce Your Bond
By creating a list of what you and your teen would enjoy experiencing together before they head off to college, you can deepen the relationship you’ve built through the years in a very special way.
Whether what lands on the list is revisiting a favorite park, baking your family’s signature dessert together, having heart-to-heart conversations that have yet to be had, or scheduling an adventure that you’ve always wanted to pursue, each item on the bucket list presents an opportunity to identify and discuss dreams that may not have been expressed before. These discussions can deepen your understanding of each other. And creating a bucket list together fosters collaboration and shared decision-making and planning, which are skills that will be extremely useful in college and beyond.
2. Showcase Their Individuality (and Yours)
Creation of a bucket list lets your teen showcase their unique personality and identify with specificity their current and evolving interests. Whether their bucket list entries include trying a new activity, exploring a new place, or simply revisiting places or activities they already love, the list reflects what they cherish from the past, who they currently are, and who they’re becoming. Additionally, your contributions to the list may illuminate aspects of you that your teen may not have previously recognized. After all, you are both evolving in your way, and it’s valuable to see that growth is a lifelong process.
3. Increase Their Confidence
A bucket list can be both fun and practical and can increase your teen’s confidence in their ability to thrive. By including lessons on creating and managing a budget, prioritizing self-care, seeking professional support when needed, cooking and laundry basics, and/or time management or other topics, you’ll give your teen a sense of self-assurance before they embark on their college journey. By practicing skills they’ve not yet fully developed, they will grow in confidence. These moments of learning alongside you can double as opportunities to spend quality time together while putting your mind at ease by helping to prepare them for independence.
4. Rekindle Joy During Stressful Times
The pre-college months are often filled with the pressure of applications, deadlines, considerations, and weighty decisions. The creation of a bucket list presents the opportunity to lighten the mood and shift the focus to something fun, which can help relieve stress. The mere existence of the list provides you and your teen with something enjoyable to schedule and look forward to.
5. Create Lasting Memories
The final months before college are fleeting and a bucket list can help ensure you make the most of them. Through something as simple as a sunset walk, a family photo shoot, or as adventurous as participating in sky- or scuba-diving lessons, the memories you create through pursuing the entries on your bucket list will be cherished long after your teen heads off to their next chapter.
Conclusion:
The emotional shift of preparing for college can be challenging for both parents and teens. Creating and completing a bucket list allows for a shared focus, offering moments of connection that can help alleviate pre-college jitters. Working together on a bucket list can help you and your teen process the change around the corner as you focus on shared goals before departure day arrives.
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