Graduation 2012: Top 8 tips for parenting the grad

Graduation 2012: Staying in the moment with the top 8 tips for parenting the grad.

Whether your child is moving up to middle school, high school, or  graduating from college,the pride and joy you feel as parents can rarely be matched. For many the transition has been smooth with a few small pot holes along the way. For others, the road may have been rocky and at times treacherous. But regardless of what the road to this destination has been like, now is the time to focus on the fact that your child has arrived there … in one piece no less!

 It is important that you take the time to relax and enjoy. Put all your concerns about your teens on pause at least for now. We know that as a parent you have always tried to look one step ahead which is often a good strategy when parenting teens. Now is a time, however, for both you and your teen to stay in the moment. Here are a few reasons why:

 1.) Your teens have worked hard and your acknowledgement, joy, and excitement for them means everything to them! After all you are their super hero!

 2.) If you are worrying about what comes next then you will miss out on what is happening now!

 3.) As their super hero, your teens look to you for approval. Now is not the time to model behavior that will rain on their parade!

 4.) There is always tomorrow! Today is about pride and approval. You can worry about his bedding not clashing with his college roommate’s bedding on another day.

 5.) This is your moment too! After all, their achievement is in part a reflection of your hard work and devotion!

 6.) Milestones can be bittersweet. Try not to reflect on what their movement forward may mean to you personally in terms of your age or your role in their lives. Celebrate and welcome the new phase in your life this accomplishment represents!

 7.) Life is  short. We all need to take a moment and smell the roses. Be in this moment and you will create a memory that you can revisit again and again!

 8.) We celebrate these achievements because they do not occur everyday. One more reason to enjoy every moment!

 Carpe Diem!  Seize the day! Rest assured that you will be glad you did!

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best family and parenting bloggers out there. Our contributing and guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor, and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. Jennifer Powell-Lunder and Barbara Greenberg blog at Talking Teenage.