One of the great joys of the holidays as a parent is when your child who was away at college comes home over winter break. Not only do you get a chance to catch up with them and see how college has been, but you also generally get a whole lot of time with them at home to have them just be around. Unfortunately it is possible that while your college aged child is home from school that she/he gets into a Connecticut auto accident and gets injured while on break.
It can be tempting to try to be protective of your college student when they are home on break, but you might not have much luck with that considering they have already gotten a taste of what it is like to live independently. Go ahead and try to give your son or daughter a curfew while they are home on break, it could be an uphill climb. That is why it is important to do a few things to keep them safe that won’t feel like an invasion of privacy or you treating your son/daughter like a child again when they are back under your roof from college.
Start by loading their phone with an Uber gift card (or a gift card for your ride share service of choice.) This is a good way to give them the option to go out and have a good time with their friends and not worry about how they are going to get home. They won’t have to worry about money or the thought of whether they are sober enough to drive home. It gives them an easy decision with continued independence and it will give you peace of mind that they have a safe way to get home.
The next thing you can do discreetly to provide them with safety and security and peace of mind is to allow them to have their own space in your home to have people over and enjoy seeing old friends. Opening up your home to their high school friends is a nice gesture and also allows you to make sure that they are being responsible and keeping everyone they are hanging out with safe and free from injury. In this case you will need to make sure that no one leaves your house intoxicated, so there will be some oversight required on your part, but assuming you have a brief discussion with your son/daughter about it, this should be a good trade off to have the independence they are accustomed to at college.
Finally, don't give them too much grief about how much they are sleeping. Even college kids, or maybe especially college kids need a lot of sleep and requiring that they get up at a certain time of the day or go to bed at a certain time of night can be a real buzzkill for kids who have been used to a certain level of adulthood at college. It may be frustrating when they roll out of bed at 1pm ready for breakfast, but if they are getting the sleep they need they will be able to avoid a situation where they get behind the wheel and they are tired to the point where it will affect their ability to drive.
Welcoming your son or daughter home from college can be a joyful experience but it can also be challenging to find the right balance of parenting and independence. If you can walk that line you can not only help keep your child safe from a Connecticut auto accident but you can also maintain your sanity and your relationship with them while they are home on break.
If you do need someone to work with you in the event of an injury, contact our office. One of our experienced attorneys can work with you to protect your and your child’s long-term interests.
