Keeping in Touch With Your Kids in College

A variety of emotions can arise when kids go off to college and start on their adult life.

Research done at the University of Kansas shows that being able to communicate through texting and other channels can help you feel more connected and have a more satisfying relationship with your grown kids.

Gone are the days when you had to wait by the phone for a call from your college student. Today you can send — and receive — text messages and emails anytime. And video chats let you have a “face-to-face” conversation even when you’re thousands of miles away from each other.

What’s more, the more mediums you use, the better. According to the Kansas survey results from nearly 370 participants aged 18 to 29, those with the most satisfying parent relationships used three different methods of communication.

Explore all these channels of communication:

Cellphone
Texting
Email
Video calls
Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat

Another important survey finding was that dads often need to make more of an effort to use the more non-traditional tools — moms adopt them more easily. For parents who have a harder time with verbal communication, sending e-messages might actually be a comfortable way to reach out, to let your grown child know how much you care, and share information to stay close.

Finally, frequency counts. As surprising as it might sound, more communication is appreciated by college students. Especially when the messages are casual texts — like “good luck on that test” — just to maintain contact, rather than to convey important pieces of information.

More information

Learn more about the survey research findings on communicating with your college kids on this University of Kansas site.

Source: HealthDay