INDIANAPOLIS — Butler University's first day of class is next week, and Monday was move-in day for a lot of those students.
Parents at Butler and other Indiana colleges, along with those across the country, could be facing empty nest syndrome as they prepare for a shift at home. This occurs when one or more children have moved out of the home, and that change in family dynamics creates different emotions.
The Singh family is experiencing this firsthand. Their daughter is going to study finance and pre-law. Though they'll be just a few minutes away in Carmel, they know this will be different.
"We have mixed emotions. We are planning to travel more and on the times when we don’t have to pay premium prices," Mona Singh said. "We are expecting to have less laundry. So that is the positive side. But at the same time, we'd rather have her home than those things."
Kimble Richardson, a licensed mental health counselor at Community Health Network, said those emotions could range from excitement and happiness to anxiety and depression.
"Parents and children redefine their relationship. And it doesn't happen just like that. It happens over days, weeks, months," Richardson said. "I would even talk about it with your child. Now that you're leaving, what does it mean when you come back for visits?"
Though experts encourage you to talk to your children about this familial shift, they warn not to lean on your child for emotional comfort. That should be done with another support adult, or an expert.