College Bound Kids?

by Cheryl Baumgartner Medical Billing/Coding/Insurance

This is the time we all look forward to and dread as parents.  It was hard enough for most of
us to send our children off to kindergarden knowing they would be back in the afternoon, now we may be sending them off to another state.  The pride in knowing our child is furthering their education to make a successful life is often at war with our desire to protect them and keep them safe.  We do let them go, but we also worry.


We spend approximately 18 years preparing our child for life on their own.  We try to teach them right from wrong and how to be good people. But as we know, children make mistakes. They don't yet have life experience and college is often a double major experience.  Your child really attends two schools.  They are attending the college of their choice and the "School of Hard Knocks".  While they earn that degree in their chosen career field they also earn that degree in 'Life'.


While our kids have earned the high school diploma, the diploma of life may be missing.  We overlook the fact that the world is a much different place than when we left the nest. Everything moves at a faster pace, information circles the globe in mere moments and privacy is a thing of the past. 

An internet search can turn up information on anyone.  Don't believe it?  Put your name in in a search engine and see what comes up. That life diploma now entails teaching your children to be 'information conscious'.  Young adults (ages 18-29) are in the highest risk group for identity theft.  Contributing factors can include dorm living, tempting credit, clean criminal histories and the lack of life experience.  We can't do anything about life experience, that they must gain on their own but we can make them information conscious.


First make sure your child understands the importance of protecting their personal information. It only takes seconds for an identity thief to steal their information, but it can take years to correct the damage. Make sure they know the warning signs of being an identity theft victim.  Lastly, make sure they understand that there are dishonest people out there that are looking for victims.
 

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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