How to Help Your Homeschooled Child Reduce Anxiety in Their First Year at College

Anxiety in college is common among students of all backgrounds. The American College Health Association found that 63% of students struggle with anxiety in higher education and 23% of students were diagnosed with a related mental illness.

Students in their first year tend to have the most anxiety, and if your homeschooler is getting ready to enter their college journey, it’s essential to provide them with the skills they need to reduce it.

Here’s how to help your homeschooled child reduce anxiety during their first year at college.

Teach Them Life Skills

One of the best ways to help reduce your student’s anxiety is by teaching them the skills they need to live independently. Knowing basic cooking, cleaning and financial skills can remove some of the stress of moving into a dorm or apartment. Living in a clean environment can help them better focus on their studies since there’s not as much clutter and distractions.

A contributing factor to college-centered anxiety is being overwhelmed. According to the Mayo Clinic, part of this stress comes from not knowing how to live independently.

Here are skills that will benefit your student as they navigate their first semester:

• Cooking quick meals and making healthy choices

• Doing laundry

• Washing dishes by hand

• Withdrawing and depositing money into a bank account

• Creating a budget

• Navigating a new place without a GPS

• Using public transportation

• Getting medical care

• Staying organized

• Managing time

Students with these skills will feel confident functioning independently, removing some of the anxiety of going to college.

Encourage Them to Socialize

It’s a misconception that most homeschooled students have significant socialization problems, but they can feel anxiety about navigating college life.

Even kids from public and private schools can feel social anxiety in their first year. It’s an environment filled with people they’ve never interacted with before. Colleges tend to be a melting pot of students from different backgrounds struggling to relate to each other first.

Homeschooled students without much experience in social groups could feel at a disadvantage when making friends and navigating social situations.

You can help your student interact with others by encouraging them to participate in social activities they may enjoy, such as joining clubs and student organizations. If they have roommates, encourage them to start and participate in conversations with them.

Many departments hold events that give your student an academic advantage and let them interact with other future professionals in the field they care about. If they have a specific interest they haven’t found on campus, suggest they research clubs or organizations in the surrounding area.

You can also encourage them to begin their own club or student organization that will attract peers with a common interest. Any safe opportunity to interact with other students and community members is a good way to make friends and learn new skills.

Humans need social interaction to thrive, especially in new environments. It’s important that your child finds others with whom they can regularly have positive interactions to fulfill that need.

Avoid Judgment

College offers students a sense of freedom many young adults haven’t yet experienced. This also opens them up to making negative choices that are risky and frustrating for them.

It’s unrealistic to think that your child won’t make an irresponsible decision, and it’s important that you avoid judging them for it. They might be anxious to tell you about their thoughts, feelings and experiences in college if they think you’ll see them differently.

Tell them they can talk to you about their mistakes and that you’ll be there for them no matter what. Also, show that you trust them to make responsible decisions and convey confidence in their ability to do so. Encourage them to contact you for advice on any situation.

It can be hard to think about your student in these scenarios, but expressing confidence can help them feel less anxious about their decisions.

It’s also important to be open to non-dangerous changes your student goes through. They’re likely to interact with customs, cultures and ideas they haven’t experienced before, which can expand their hobbies, food preferences and career choices.

Don’t judge them for these changes and encourage them to be themselves, whoever that may be.

Relieve Your Student’s Anxiety

Most college students experience some anxiety, and it’s normal to be a little anxious in a new situation. If your homeschooler feels overwhelmed about their first year of college, there are ways you can help them have a good experience.

These steps can help your child reduce anxiety and have a positive experience.