After eighteen years of parenting, for some parents at least it might be hard to let go. So when your now young adult leaves home for tertiary education and an independent life how do you adjust and how can you support your young person during the first part of their first time living away from home?

After 18 years of parenting, for some parents at least it might be hard to let go when their child is ready to go to university.

So when your now young adult leaves home for tertiary education and an independent life, how do you adjust and how can you support your young person during the first part of their first time living away from home?

When the kids are off to uni, how should parents parent them?

Listen to the full interview with University of Canterbury Deputy Vice-Chancellor Catherine Moran here

University of Canterbury Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Catherine Moran shares advice with Kathryn Ryan for both parents' and students' challenges during the big transition to university.

While a lot of the first years are in residence halls, Moran says there's still a large proportion that aren't and it's important to make sure they all feel connected.

It was a challenge for some first-years when they had to go to level 2 in their second week of university this year.

"That was a point where we really needed to make sure our first years were well looked after and that they felt they knew where they were going, what they were doing and what to expect," Moran says.

Some might feel a little lost in their first year as they navigate through the workload and campus.

"That's normal, there's always that little bit of getting used to things. The students will also find themselves in really large classes, especially for first years, and that's different from high school where you are well known by Year 13, you have classmates and cohorts you know how to hang out and so on.

"That's where we get in really early with clubs, tutorials and labs and workshops so giving them the opportunity to have some smaller group involvement."

Moran says, as a parent herself, she understands parents want everything to go smoothly for their children but "as much as it will be a temptation to want to protect and solve the problems", it's better to let them know you're there for them and encourage them to seek help.

"For parents, it is a real balancing act, because there is a real balance between staying in touch and letting go and letting your young person find their way…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details