Muffins with Mom – 3 Signs that it’s time to send your child back to school – college bound

When kids have too much time on their hands...time to refocus and prepare for back to school.

My college son - the younger years

Binders, notebooks, ink pens and backpacks, these are all signs that back to school is near. In my house, the back to school indicators are a little different. It’s back to college for my cherubs.

Before I even noticed school supplies on the store shelves, there were situations that caused me to cry out, “When does school start for you?” Here are 3 signs that can cause you to encourage your young adult child to prepare for departure.

1.      You tell your child to unload the dishwasher and he says, “I didn’t use any of those dishes.”

2.      There seven pairs of shoes scattered near your front door, and none of them are yours.

3.      You’re out late and your child sends a text message saying, “What’s for dinner?” You know this child can cook because he’s sent you photos of his delectable dinners when he was away at school.

The irony of these situations is that you know you have taught your child about responsibility. This was evident to me one sunny day as I walked past my sons’ car in the driveway of our house. I noticed his windows were part of the way down.

I peeked into my son’s car, there was no trash on the floor or in the door pockets. No stains on the seats. Thoughts began to form in my head. I could take the empty Gator Aid bottle he left in my car and toss it through his window. Maybe I could drop a small candy wrapper on floor mat, for him to discover later. Hmmm.

Had I carried out my plot, it would have been considered a bad parenting moment. The drawback to that plan is that somehow I would still come out as the looser. My son would have needed to use my supplies to clean up the mess. When I told my son what I thought about doing he said, “Wow, that’s childish.”

“Saying you didn’t use any of the dishes is not childish?” I retorted.

Life’s little lessons continue, even after your children graduate from high school.

What would you add to the list of signs that it’s time for back to school?