Leaving home

Leaving home

Leaving your family home to go to university is not always easy. Read the advice from a first-year student and her dad to get two points of view on the experience.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the article and do the other exercises.

Reading

Leaving home

Going away to university is always a tricky time, both for the students who are leaving home and their parents who are staying behind. We got advice on how to cope from a student daughter and her dad.

A daughter’s advice to parents, by Kerry Price

My parents drove me to uni at the beginning of the first term. That was great, but then they hung around, so it was hard to chat to the people in the rooms near mine. It’s best if you leave us to unpack ourselves.

Don’t ask us to come home during term time. There’s a lot going on at weekends, there just isn’t time.

Get another interest or a pet if you feel lonely without us. Don’t make us feel guilty about leaving home!

It is quite interesting to hear about your experiences at uni, but remember that it was a LONG time ago so don’t go on about it so much. Things have changed a lot. Now we have a lot more debt and it’ll be harder to find a job in the future.

Please don’t check up on us or our friends on Facebook. I know it’s a public site, but we have the right to some privacy.

Don’t change anything in our bedrooms. We have only half left home - we’ll be back in the holidays, so please don’t touch anything.

We’d still like to come on family holidays with you. Don’t forget to include us just because we’re not there all the time.

A father’s advice to students, by Stuart Price

Don’t complain so much about how much work you have to do. We work a lot too. You’re an adult now, get used to it.

Put up with the fact that we refused to get a dog while you were at home, then suddenly bought one as soon as you moved out. We miss you!

Just because you’re at university studying very complex subjects, it doesn’t mean that you’re more intelligent than everybody else. Don’t treat your family as if they were stupid; we’re really not.

Let us come and visit you now and again. We promise to try not to embarrass you in front of your friends. We just want to see you for a short time and take you out for a meal.

Don’t waste so much time on Facebook. You need time for all that work you have to do, remember?

We might make a few changes to your room, so deal with it. It’s great to have a guest room at last, but we won’t change things too much, promise.

Don’t forget to call home from time to time and don’t get annoyed if we phone you. It’s not pestering. If we didn’t call, you wouldn’t know that we care.

Discussion

Are you looking forward to leaving home? Why or why not?

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Average: 3.9 (14 votes)
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Comments

Submitted by A01285124 on Thu, 09/26/2019 - 01:17

I think that you are right, but if you want you could go and see the international programs in the school, maybe you get interested and you could meet new friends and new experiences.

In reply to by regis

Submitted by A01282744 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:28

For me I left home is a bit difficult since I am very attached to my family but I think it is a very good experience that helps us mature. -Ale

Submitted by Dannyrdz89 on Thu, 11/21/2019 - 17:14

I think same as you because is important the family but growing up you will become a adult.

In reply to by A01282744

Submitted by A01285136 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:27

I think that what they say is very important because when you enroll in a university, you leave your parents aside and start becoming independent and have much more ability to live alone, among other things.

Submitted by A01285173 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:26

Yes, because I considerate that the independence is very important in a teen life, and when you live home at a adequate age like 18 years old, you can take your own decisions and take the control of your life.

Submitted by A01284632 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:26

No, because I think that I'll miss all that moments in my house with my family, and I think I want to make more moments but that moments will finish when I leave home.

Submitted by anapaulamtzg on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:22

I liked very much the story because it´s exactly what i think that my parents would do if I leave my home to go to university. I understood both postures because is the reality in a lot of cases.

Submitted by A01285124 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:22

I am not actually looking forward to leave home, but I want to go as an exchange student, for like one year or something like that, then I will come back with my family and study the rest of my university in the place I live. I mean, in high school I am going on winter to a trip with my friends, I like doing little trips so I could learn step by step how to be independent.

Submitted by a01177960 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:22

I don´t want to leave my home because my parents maintain me and I don´t be ready to leave home, I´m not mature.

Submitted by A01284720 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:20

I thing the same that Kerry, the university is the perfect time to be independent and responsable because in the future we are going to be adults and we have to be responsable.

Submitted by anapaulamtzg on Tue, 09/24/2019 - 15:55

I think the same as you. In some moment we will need to learn how to be independent.

In reply to by A01284720

Submitted by A01284753 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:18

I think that on the one hand the girl is fine because if she occupies her privacy and needs her social life, but on the other hand the parents have every right to go to visit their children whenever they want and can.

Submitted by Roberta on Fri, 07/26/2019 - 11:15

I think that leaving your home is a really frustrating experience, because it is a big step in the life of every teenager as you have to come out of your own comfort zone. It is exciting and scary at the same time because you will get a lot of free time and a lot of responsibilities such as carry a budget, cook for yourself or buy some useful in household things. I hope I will get used to my own adult's life!

Submitted by a01177960 on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 16:27

I agree with your comment because you don´t know how to live alone, you need people and it is so difficult to do friends.

In reply to by Roberta

Submitted by KeylaVazquez on Tue, 09/24/2019 - 02:53

I agree with you that leaving home is a big step in our life because we end a phase of our life and begin to be adults with many responsibilities. Also, I think that it is a great experience for children and parents because that will be a change and it will be a new experience for both. On top of that, I think that if the family is together, they will deal with any problem related to it. Finally, it is important to know that no one is born knowing how to be an adult and all people will learn about it. So, I hope to get used to being an adult in the future too.

In reply to by Roberta

Submitted by Monity on Fri, 04/05/2019 - 12:19

According to me ,by the passage of time an enormous difference of opinions has come between parents and children.on the above passage both are right on their own perception...I have also a dream to go to abroad for perusing higher studies.

Submitted by parsasoroori on Tue, 03/26/2019 - 15:36

Actually I really like to leave home and travel abroad to study at uni; but unfortunately I'm a little affiliate.
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Submitted by Youjiro on Thu, 02/07/2019 - 08:43

I'd like to stay in my house as long as possible.I do not cook myself so often.I cook myself at morning .I don't like clean up my room.advantage of leaving home is fee time. I definitely try make free time.My parent limit play game.They say playing game is waste of time.I don't have play station and x box. single life is more comfortable and relaxation of time. But I'd like to stay in my house.
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Submitted by SLMT on Sat, 04/07/2018 - 08:20

I would like to leave home one day.I like to study more and fulfill my dreams.And I think leaving home is also a big exam for children. They also have to decide carefully to go out from their comfort zone.At first,we all have lived under the control of parents.We don’t need to think about our finically problem,time management,Daily toy time and more and more.Even preparing a meal is also a part of our daily routine.It’s just s big changes to go out from parents’ shield. It’s a turning point of our lives.I wish my turning point would be a great start.

Submitted by regis on Tue, 09/24/2019 - 01:00

I think the same, I would like to leave home one day to achieve my dreams in the future. But if we want to be independent, we must face different adversities, such as having money control, cooking our own food, among other things. Then yes! Leaving our father's house brings great changes.

In reply to by SLMT

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