Friday phone call
Back when I was a student, families often chose a set day/time to have their student call home. With cell phones everywhere, that is no longer an issue, and you can text or IM your Deacs just about any time. I would argue that even though texting is quick and easy, you should have a real phone call at least once a week.
Longtime Daily Deac-ers have heard this before, but as we look to the start of the semester, it is a good time to remind you of it. As you and your students try to determine the best day/time for them to call you for a proper conversation, you may want to suggest that it be on Friday afternoons. Why?
– Research by Meg Small at Penn State showed parental communication on weekends (30 minutes or more of general conversations not specifically related to substance use) decreased the high risk use of alcohol on those weekends.
– Research by Rob Turrisi at Penn State showed parental communication with students between high school graduation and the start of the first year of college concerning expectations related to alcohol use decreased high risk use of and negative consequences of alcohol in their children during the first semester of their college experience.
And of course, tell your students you love them. They can never hear that enough!