Another year draws to a close on Duke’s campus. Campus life gets a little calmer as the students leave and we all begin our planning for next year. The parental role, however, never seems to be calm as the summer begins with the family. In many ways our role at the Wellness Center on campus is similar to being the parent away from home. We try to convey to students safe and healthy messages like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFAPWJeeOgs. We ask students to take care of themselves, get rest, eat nutritiously, don’t drink too much and be safe. The challenge we face during the summer months is to reach the students while they are potentially in different cities, on Duke Engage, in internships or at home. Students are adjusting and settling in to life off of campus and to the rules that may be different from the ones in the dorm. 

So as life on campus gets a little quieter and life at home potentially gets a little busier I want to give some tips to think about and/or discuss with your student over this summer regarding choices he/she has been faced with during the past year. Specifically I am thinking about choices around substance use, but this can apply to any difficult health topic.