Most parents these days would expect their child to go to school, college, and possibly study at a university as well. In most cases, college or even high school is enough to go out, get a job, and find something that they really want to do. After all, they have plenty of time to go to college or university afterwards if they really wanted to.

But as parents, we tend to focus a lot on planning for the future. We like to think about what our children might want from life and we try to make arrangements so that they have all the support and assistance that they’d need. But even then, things might not go as planned. Unexpected circumstances might occur, and there are some unfortunate situations that might strike before your child can even finish high school.

So in this, we’re going to talk about planning for the unexpected. Plans that last for several months or even years can go terribly wrong, which is why it’s important to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances.

Pushing your child too much can be problematic

A lot of parents don’t realize that pressuring their child into studying will never work. Encouraging them does, but there’s a very fine line between the two. For example, you might find yourself trying to make too many decisions for your child because you believe you know what’s best for them. In reality, nobody knows–not even your child. You can’t really expect a teenager to know what they want from life and what they want to study. Even many young adults don’t really know what kind of job they want to end up with after they finish university.

Life is full of opportunities and your child might change their mind in a split second. One half of the year they might be focusing on sports, and the other half they might decide to study computer science. Children can often bounce between many different types of interests and hobbies, and it’s difficult to really pinpoint something that they want to do in life from an early age. As such, you should try not to pressure your child too much. Even if they show extraordinary talent in something, it doesn’t mean that it’s what they want to do for the rest of their lives and you should respect that choice.

Strengthen your finances as much as possible

There are always going to be financial considerations to keep in mind when sending your child to college. For example, there’s the college tuition fee to think of, but what if your child wants to go to a college that is outside of your city? What if they want to study in a different state? Renting a place for them is going to cost a lot of money, and they’re going to need an allowance for food, study materials, and even entertainment.

This can add many different expenses that are difficult to plan for. That’s why it’s important to establish a strong financial foundation in order to continue supporting them. They’re going to be spending a lot of your money and even if they get a job, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to pay off their student loan without your assistance. Even if they’re a bright child with a promising future, there’s no telling what job they might end up with and there may be times where they’ll struggle to find work due to circumstances that are outside of their control.

There are also some difficult circumstances that you might need to have savings for. For example, you might need to pay for car damages if they get into an accident on the way to school, and you might need to pay for repairs to their computer. While nobody likes to talk or think about it, there’s also the small but very real chance that we’d need to invest in children headstones should something terrible fall upon our child, stopping any plan of ever sending them to college. As parents, it’s our duty to take great care and look after our children to ensure this never happens, but the world can be a harsh place that doesn’t wait for us.

In summary, there are many difficult and unpredictable circumstances that might put a wrench in your plans. You can’t really plan for the unexpected, but you can do many different things to minimize the impact it has on your ability to send your child to college.