It all comes down to this moment. You have toiled, prayed, and planned for this moment since your child was a baby. The moment is high school graduation. Your baby is now all grown up and is heading off to college. How do you help him or her prepare for college successfully? How do you give them a firm foundation that they can stand on when they are away from home at college? Here are six steps you can do to make sure that your college student has a great foundation for success.

1. Pray
   Pray, and as Paul mentions in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, pray continually. Prayer is one of the most important things you can do for your child. Pray for your child’s safety but also pray for your child’s academic success. Pray that God will allow your child to meet people who will assist him in making good decisions and help him to succeed. You should also pray with your child and let him know that you will be praying for him while he’s in school. Prayer can help to elevate fears – your fears and the fears your child may have of leaving home and beginning a new life. 
2. Let go
   As a parent, you have to be willing to let go. While your child has to be ready to go to college, you as a parent also have to be ready to let your child go. Your child needs to know that you will be okay so that she can concentrate on being a success in college. Yes, your child will miss you and may even wish she was back at home with you but you must reassure your child that while you will miss her that you are okay with her leaving and starting a new life. It is natural for children to leave the nest. And yes, it can hurt but we as parents have to let go.
3. Keep communication open
   Sometimes when children leave home they forget that there’s such a thing called a telephone. Let your child know that want to hear from them. Reassure them that it’s okay to call home not just when they get good grades or when they want money but also if they receive a disappointing grade or need someone to talk to. College students sometimes try to shield their parents from a lot of things, thinking that they will only worry.
4. Give them their space
   Children leave home to go to college not just to get a degree but also as a sign of independence. Try to respect this transition into adulthood. Don’t visit your child every weekend on campus. College is a time when students need to learn to take care of themselves. They need time to study, to meet people and to make new friends. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever visit them or not call them. The key here is to keep it to a reasonable level.
5. Talk about finances
   Outside of studying, money or the lack of it, will be one of the biggest issues your college student will face. Many students graduate college in a mountain of debt and many times this debt is credit card debt. College students are surrounded by credit card companies and schemes to get them to sign up for credit cards. Help your child to remain out of debt as much as possible by discussing with them the responsible use of credit cards. Or you may wish to give them a card that either has a low limit such as $500 or a credit gift card that you put money on so they can only spend that amount. These types of cards are available at some banks and credit card companies.
6. Talk about worship
   Sometimes when children go off to college they tend to leave church and worshiping God behind. It can be frightening going to a new church all alone without family. If your child needs your help in this area you can either visit the church with him or you can call the church office to introduce yourself and your child over the phone. Have someone who can be there to greet him when he visits the church. Many churches located in metropolitan areas have college programs and some even have a college minister on staff. Encourage your child to grow and deepen in his faith. Academic success is not more important than having a growing relationship with the Father. As Jesus said “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).