Advice to Daughter Leaving for College

As we move into the new year, parents of high school seniors are going to be both elated and traumatized as their children begin to receive their acceptance letters to college.  The reality of our most precious assets going out into the world ... alone ... is a time of melancholy as parents wonder whether they have done all they could do to prepare and protect their babies from the harsh realities of the world.  For blogger Amy Wrubble, this day won't actually come for sixteen years, as her daughter is only two.  However, she's not wasting any time and recently posted her letter to her daughter who is leaving for college.  Her advice is a catch-all for all the basics of parenting advice, but written in a fun, whimsical - and slightly but sweetly neurotic - voice, intending to level with her daughter:

Some of Amy's classic tips include:

• Don't do drugs .... or take the Whole Foods Approach and choose only "organic"

• Don't drink the punch, but instead stick to beer which will hopefully fill you up before you drink yourself to death

• No naked photos or tattoos

• Study philosophy and the humanities to feed the soul ... but accounting fills the bank account

• Embrace the opportunity to be politically and socially involved.

Certainly, we all want "the best" for our kids, though we know it has to do with them choosing wisely and making good systems.  We instill our kids with our values and lessons, but at some point they are going to be their own best selves, for better or worse in what we intended and hoped.