Scots parents' biggest worries when about children when they go to university is how they will handle money and settle in to their new environment away from home.
Research found 41 per cent of parents said fitting in was their mian concern, while 36 per cent worried their children would fail to study and drop out, and a third worried about safety, and drink and drugs.
Across the UK 45 per cent of parents were concerned about how their children would cope with cash.
Read more: Remote line saved from Beeching axe at risk again over costs
As almost half a million new students starting classes this week, with tens of thousands leaving home for new towns and cities, often hundreds of miles away, a new poll for personal safety app Lookout Call, has found that among fears about safety and excess drinking, one of the biggest worries is that children won’t settle into their new academic environment.
As well as dealing with a step up in the intensity of their education, many will be coping with the realities of living outside the family circle, dealing with bills and handling their own finances for the first time.
The UK-wide Lookout Call study found that the biggest worries for parents across the country included were that they would neglect their studies and drop out (29 per cent) and not be safe (32 per cent)
John Wood, spokesman for Lookout Call, said: "It’s only natural for parents to worry when their children leave home for the first time.
Read more: Remote line saved from Beeching axe at risk again over costs
"The thing parents have to remember is that as teenagers experience what is for many their first taste of real freedom, the last thing they usually want is mum and dad calling them."
Other worries highlighted in the survey, carried out by experts OnePoll were unwanted pregnancy and that students may fail to keep in contact with their parents.
Read more: Remote line saved from Beeching axe at risk again over costs
Guidance on settling in to academic life and on safety is available from campus authorities and local police.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel