The ways of nature are awe-inspiring, mysterious, and direct. Every single organism that is part of nature has a shelf-life ranging between a few days to many years.

You must be familiar with the expression “Birds of a feather flock together”. But then comes a day when some birds have to leave the nest and the flock to discover life on their own. Similar is the case with humans.

Parents realize that one day their kids will grow up and leave their humble abode in search of greener pastures. Seeing your kids moving out of the house at 18 is not a pleasant sight for most parents. The goodbyes are painful and the tears abundant, but eventually things happen the way they are supposed to happen.

Here are some tips for parents to deal with grief when their kids spread their wings and fly away from the family nest.

Empty Nest Syndrome

The first step to coping with the grief of departing teenagers is to understand the idea behind Empty Nest Syndrome. This is a psychological condition that usually affects women and gives rise to a feeling of grief when their children leave home to eke out a living for themselves in the unguarded world.

This syndrome can be observed in parents, especially mothers, when their kids leave for school and college, or when children get married and decide to live on their own with their better halves.

Women are more susceptible to being overtaken by empty nest feeling because they dedicate themselves to the demanding task of bringing up children for an average of 20 years of their lives.

Prepare for the Worst

If you know for sure that one of your children would soon be leaving home, it is time for you to begin sharing your knowledge about life and living with them.

For starters they should know how to do their laundry, cook for themselves, integrate into new surroundings, manage their money, have good social skills, and a zillion other things that would eventually come their way.

Keeping in Touch

Seeing teenagers moving out of home is an emotional occasion for parents. Instead of getting depressed, parents should fill the empty spaces within their hearts by figuring out ways to remain in constant touch with the kids.

This would help you share information with the children and vice versa. This would also keep the family spirit alive.

Another good option to keep the communication going is to exchange emails or texts, which is a good way of holding less emotional conversations.

Live Your Life Again

Parents usually make sure that their children are set on the right path after leaving home before getting back to their own interests.

Now that you are free from most of your duties, take out time to build new friendships and link up with the old ones. It would be even better if you could strike a bond with others suffering from the empty nest syndrome. They could prove to be an excellent support network for you in old age.

Participating in social work and getting involved with charities can also prove beneficial in the long run. You would be able to extract satisfaction and fulfillment for helping out random people.