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Staying In Touch With Children Studying Away From Home

Staying In Touch With Children Studying Away From Home

Starting university is a major milestone in a young adult’s life. While it’s an exciting time for the teen, it can be a cause of concern for parents, who would understandably be worried about their children’s welfare. Will their child be able to make friends? How will they cope if they need help with their studies? Will they be eating properly?

It’s important for parents to stay in touch with their children, especially when they live far from home. Finding the right balance between being supportive and being overbearing can be tricky, but it’s necessary. Here are some ways to do so.

Schedule regular video calls

Parents should be more open to all the possibilities technology offers. Video calls are a lot better than phone calls–they allow you and your child to see each other’s expressions in realtime. You can see your child’s mussed up hair, roll their eyes when you crack a dad joke, and get a glimpse of their messy dorm room in the background. On their end, they’ll be reminded of the things that make home special.

Share photos with each other

This is an easy way to keep your college student updated about what’s going on at home. You can agree with your child to send each other photos on a regular basis–maybe once a day, or once a week, no matter how mundane your schedule might be. Finding beauty in the mundane is a great way to hone your photography skills.

Sharing your photos will be more fun with a Nixplay Frame. This way, all your photographs will be displayed instantly without the need for USB drives, memory cards, or other devices. Now’s the best time to buy a Nixplay Frame: With our Secret Sale, you can get up to 30% off selected frames, only until August 23!

Visit as often as you can

Phone calls and video calls and care packages are great, but in-person visits are way better. If you have some free time, try to make a trip to your child’s campus. Nothing can replace the thrill of seeing your college student in their second home, where they’re hopefully learning, growing, and thriving. Make sure to tell your child of your plans to visit so you’ll both have something to look forward to and plan for.

Send care packages

A care package filled with food, supplies, and other dorm room necessities would be greatly appreciated by your child. You’ll brighten your kid’s day in a pinch, and you’ll help them save some cash during their next shopping trip. Make your care package more meaningful by adding a letter, a sweet note, or printed photos among the items so they’ll have a meaningful reminder of home.

Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

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Nixplay’s College Experience Checklist

College is one of the best times of a person’s life–it’s when you can explore what the world has to offer while still tethered to a safe, supportive community. Once you get your diploma, you’ll truly be on your own in the big, bad world, and a fruitful university experience will arm you with the necessary skills and street smarts to handle whatever life throws your way.

If you or your child is attending college, here are some things that should be ticked off before graduating:

Befriend a professor.

Professors are valuable sources of wisdom, and you should take advantage of their availability to consult with them on academic and co-curricular (maybe even personal) matters. Moreover, you should get to know better (but don’t suck up to) the professors who made an impact on you, maybe even ask them to mentor you. Whether you need a better explanation of the day’s lesson, a recommendation letter for your internship, or sensible life advice, a good professor will be an indispensable ally as you journey through life.

Work part-time.

Having a bit of real work experience that isn’t your internship before graduating isn’t just good for your resume–it’s also great for your character. It’s a great opportunity to learn soft skills, network and find a mentor, and find a job you can take on after graduating. The extra cash doesn’t hurt, either!

Be a leader.

It’s high time you get out of your shell and try running for office! Being a leader on campus is guaranteed to make your resume stand out come job-hunting season. You’ll also learn how to manage people, resolve conflicts diplomatically, and be a great networker–all crucial skills you’ll need in your career.

Be a dean’s lister.

High grades will always be impressive, and even the bullies who taunted the nerds back in high school will grudgingly agree. Aim to be on the dean’s list, even for just one semester. The knowledge that you aced that statistics class you pulled several all-nighters in your dorm for will give you a confidence boost like no other.

Make lifelong friends.

Being apart from friends and classmates you grew up with can seem like a daunting prospect. But instead of viewing college as a lonely experience where you’ll be surrounded by strangers, think of it as an opportunity to meet people whom you wouldn’t get to know otherwise. You’ll meet people from all walks of life, so take this chance to expand your circle and forge new friendships!

While each person’s college experience is unique, one thing’s for sure: You’ll always wish that you took more pictures while in university. Get your camera or smartphone and capture each moment, especially the ordinary ones where you’re just enjoying life’s little pleasures.

Make sure to make your memories count by uploading them on a Nixplay Frame so you can easily reminisce about your college memories with your loved ones! For a limited time, get 25% off on selected Nixplay Seed frames, only until September 15!

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

Advice for parents of college freshmen

Tips For Parents After Sending Kids To College

It seems like only yesterday when you were dropping your kids off on their first day of elementary school. Now, they’re high school graduates on their way to college, eager to experience a whole new life.

While going to college is the most exciting time in your kids’ lives, it’s a bittersweet time for you as a parent. You’re so proud that they made it, but you’re also sad that you have to say goodbye.

Most parents will agree that coming home to your kid’s empty room after they’ve moved out is the worst part. But once you’ve cried some tears and tidied up the last of their mess, you should be thinking about how you can celebrate. Your child succeeded in getting into college and they’ve started living independently for the first time. This means you can sit back, relax and start indulging in some self-care—maybe for the first time in 18 years!

We get that sending kids to college is an emotional time, but these tidbits of advice for parents of college freshmen can help.

Keeping In Touch

Whether your child has moved to the next state or to the opposite coastline, you’ll want to stay in touch with them regularly. Keeping up to date with how they’re doing at college, their extra-curricular activities, their grades, and their general day-to-day life will give you peace of mind and help you in supporting them over the next four or more years.

It might be that you have other children too, who will want to speak to their brother or sister every now and then. So, what are the most effective ways to keep in touch?

Other than the obvious ways like calling and texting, there are a few things you can try as a family that might be easier, particularly if there’s a time difference between you now.

Using social media messaging will allow you to create your own family social network with a group chat, where you can all send and view videos, photos and texts. It’s also more immediate than a text message, as you can see who is online at what time.

Video calling is another great way to catch up and see each other at the same time. Why not try and schedule a weekly or bi-weekly Skype or Facetime call with your son or daughter? That way, you’re respecting their private life and college schedule, but you’re not constantly missing each other or having a relationship with an answering machine.

For something a little more personal or special, you can mail them a care package with all the small, homey touches that they’re likely to be missing out on. For instance, you can put together a box with toiletries, candles, their favorite snacks, comfort food packets, and flu medicines. This is something your child will really appreciate, particularly if they started the semester feeling a little out of place or homesick.

Gift Ideas For College Students

What can you do if you want to treat your graduate to something special to celebrate their huge achievement?

Our gift ideas for college students will help you to give them a great send-off. Whether it’s a family heirloom that they can keep in their dorm or apartment to remind them of home, a set of handy digital gifts, or something practical to help them settle into college life, a goodbye present will never be wasted.

You could give them a comforter for their dorm room, or offer to buy their first set of textbooks. Or perhaps you could get them some sports equipment to keep fit, or a new laptop to use for college work. Whatever you’ve got in mind, something that will be truly valued is a memory keepsake, such as a smart digital photo frame.

Gift ideas for college students from Nixplay

With a digital frame, you can share, send and display family photos or videos to your son or daughter at college. This is a priceless way to stay in touch and be a part of one another’s lives, even when you’re in different places.

How To Support Your Child At College

Supporting and encouraging your child from afar sounds difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. Even when you’re not around, you can point them in the direction of other adults who can support them such as college lecturers, guidance counselors, or upperclassmen.

But sometimes, the best way to lend a helping hand after sending a child to college is to simply leave them to it. If you trust them to find their own feet, they’re more likely to come to you if anything does ever go wrong. University freshmen need time and experience to learn how to be college students and adjust to their new surroundings. College is all about new experiences, finding out who you are and becoming an adult, so being patient and understanding is the best way to ensure that they do this in their own way.

How To Spend Your Free Time

Now, what are you supposed to do while your kid forges his or her own path in the world?

Sending a child to college doesn’t need to be all doom and gloom. On the bright side, you’ve now got an abundance of free time, which you can use to pick up a new hobby or spend quality time with friends.

During your child’s senior year at high school, you likely spent a lot of time attending university open days, helping them with applications, supporting them through their SAT prep and finals, and everything else that comes with the big college move. So, if you have other children, now is a great time to give them some extra attention—before they disappear for college too!

You can focus on having more ‘me’ time, such as taking a nap in the middle of the day for no reason or treating yourself to a shopping spree. New interests can also fill the void—it’s never too late to pick up a new skill, so enroll in lessons and learn a new craft!

There is no way to know how long it will take for any parent to adjust after sending kids to college, but by keeping busy, being there for them when they need it, and focusing on yourself, you’re doing yourself and your college student a big favor. To make the distance a little easier, Nixplay digital photo frames are the perfect way to display family photos and share memories no matter where you are. And don’t worry—they’ll soon be back for Thanksgiving so you can dote on them once more!

movies about college life

5 Must-Watch Movies About College Life

College is one of the most interesting times in your child’s life. It usually entails leaving the shelter of the community they grew up in, trading the comfort of familiar people and surroundings for a new environment and the challenges that come with it. It’s no walk in the park, but it’s definitely a path that leads to self-improvement.

Fort his blog entry, we’d like to take a trip down memory lane by rewatching some of our favorite movies about college life. Read on for our picks:

Mona Lisa Smile

A few decades ago, college campuses served as hunting grounds for women who wanted to nab a suitable husband. In Mona Lisa Smile, Julia Roberts plays Katherine Watson, a progressive art history professor at an all-girls college who encouraged her students to pursue their real passion and not be defined by society’s norms.

Good Will Hunting

You don’t really see a lot of math geniuses moonlighting as janitors, but that’s how the story goes in Good Will Hunting, which Matt Damon wrote and starred in. If you’re in the mood for a movie that will make you want to seek out a mentor, embrace your potential, and create a brighter future for yourself, this is it.

Legally Blonde

When Elle Woods’ boyfriend Warner dumps her after revealing that he intends to attend Harvard Law School, she follows him to Harvard to win him back. When Warner dismisses Elle and says she’s not smart enough, she resolves to prove him wrong in her own way, bending and snapping at every step of her journey.

Monsters University

Before they joined Monsters Inc, our favorite monsters Mike and Scully were scare majors at Monsters University, getting into several mishaps and hijinks while at school. It’s funny and silly at times, but it’ll definitely tug at your heartstrings, especially since we already know the strides the duo have made in their respective careers. If there’s a lesson to be learned from this movie (and the ones that chronologically come after it), it’s that success really depends not on the things you learned in school or the number of As you got, but what you make out of the opportunities life gives you.

Pitch Perfect

Catchy bubblegum pop songs and choreography aside, Pitch Perfect teaches great lessons about friendship, teamwork, and competition. You’ll inevitably meet people with different personalities and backgrounds in college, and this movie is an example of how to work with your differences and use them to your advantage.

Take advantage of Nixplay’s Dorm Room Must-Haves sale and get 25% off selected Nixplay Frames, only until September 15!

Image from Legally Blonde (2001).

dorm room must-haves 2019

5 Dorm Essentials For College Students

Seeing a child or a grandchild off to college is always a bittersweet experience: They grew up in front of your eyes, and it’s absolutely exciting to send them off to university. On the other hand, they’re a reminder of how quickly time flew by, and you’ll miss them terribly if they’ll be studying in a different state (or country).

One way to make the transition easier is by helping your college student select the dorm must-haves they’ll need for the place they’ll be moving into for uni. Here are some of our picks:

A set of towels

You never know when you need a towel until you need one. A set of towels should cover all your needs, from bath to beyond.

A shower caddy

Dormers shouldn’t leave their toiletries in the shower unless they don’t want to see their shampoo and soap forever. Have them stash all their supplies in a caddy for easy portability.

Laundry supplies

Detergent, laundry bags, hampers, an iron–these are all must-haves for any college student. Send them off with these supplies so they’ll always have clean clothes on hand.

Earplugs and a sleep mask

Few things are more annoying than noisy roommates stumbling in at 2 a.m. when you’ve got a major exam coming up. Make sure you get those much-needed Zzz’s with earplugs and a sleep mask that can block out everything that might disturb your slumber.

A Nixplay Frame

Make sure your student doesn’t miss your family’s milestones even if they’re several miles away with a Nixplay Frame!

Give them one of our Smart Photo Frames and easily share moments with them as they happen. Take advantage of our Dorm Room Must-Haves Sale and get 25% off selected Nixplay Frames, only until September 15!

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