Watching your children go off to college can be an experienced marked by mixed feelings.
On the one hand, you will probably feel proud to see the young adult you've created and raised take his or her first steps out into the world alone.
If your son or daughter has been a bit of a rebel, you may feel slightly relieved to see that he or she has finally gotten back on track.
You will probably be sad and may even worry that you'll miss that person you've seen go from baby to child to adolescent to adult so much that it will be unbearable.
At some point, these feelings must be set aside and preparations must be made to make sure that your son or daughter will be ready for the adventure ahead.
This means buying ...
a lot.
And while this process can be confusing, it is necessary.
Take some cues here about what to grab and what to skip while shopping with your child for college.
Skip It: Television This may come as a shock (especially to your television-addicted son or daughter), but bringing a TV to the dorms is an unnecessary evil that is best to avoid.
It may keep shy students in their rooms instead of hanging out in lounges or heading outside to make new friends and meet new people.
If there is something they absolutely can't miss on the television, most dormitories have living areas with televisions in them, anyway.
Plus, most (if not all) television programming is now available online, and most of the time it's free.
So unless your child insists that the TV is something he or she absolutely cannot live without, skip this investment.
Grab It: Smart Phone These all-in-one apparatuses are ideal for college students everywhere.
The calling and texting features of these phones allow you to stay in touch, keeping your son or daughter just a phone call away.
The internet and e-mail options offered will allow students to keep track of class-related communications and look up information they need.
GPS will be great for those bringing a car to campus, and of course, the mp3 features many of these smart phones have to offer will not be lost on any young adult.
Skip It: Microwave This also may seem like a given.
In reality, it's not necessary at all.
Most university-provided living spaces provide students with a cooking area, and most of these cooking areas include a microwave.
You're child probably won't spend that much time making his or her own food anyway - first-year students are especially likely to go with meal plans and delivery items instead.
Moreover, with the ominous freshman fifteen threatening on the horizon, take some time to think about exactly what nutritious foods can be prepared in the microwave ...
and whether that's what your child will be preparing.
Know that a lack of a microwave oven will not cause your child to starve.
Grab It: Running Shoes Keeping the dreaded freshman fifteen in mind, take a trip to the athletic shoes section of the department store and help your son or daughter to pick out a new pair.
A lot of the physical activities in which your kids participated in high school will most likely slow or completely stop in college, and encouraging them to keep up on healthy behaviors like exercise is important.
Plus, certain activities club sports could be a great way for them to make friends too.
So before heading to the mall to do your off-to-college shopping and buying everything in sight, take some time out to consider what your child will really need and what you can really afford before jumping in.