What Parents Can Do
Parents and guardians are valuable partners in this dynamic fraternity experience. Although geographically scattered, ZBT parents share a central value: they want their sons to have the best ZBT experience possible. Any family member can be supportive of a positive attitude.
- Support from home is important. Students find calls, packages, emails, etc. critical in helping them stay in touch with family and friends. Your openness, as a parent, talking with your son about the ups and downs of college life helps him to adjust to the university/college environment.
- Encourage your son to take responsibility for his actions. Making choices and living with the consequences, whether good or bad, can be empowering. Mistakes can be one of our greatest learning tools. Ultimately, the decisions your student makes is theirs to own — such as the decision to join a fraternity, the choice of where they live, behavior on campus and at events — and the outcomes and consequences (positive and negative) are theirs as well.
- Remind your son to take charge of his health, sleep and nutrition. Students who do not set limits risk exhaustion and illness often resulting in poor grades.
- Encourage your son to balance his social and academic life. Many students mistakenly think that college will be the same as high school academically. Initially, less attention paid to academics can create a crisis mid-semester as students receive disappointing grades.
- Prepare your son for actual versus assumed college “norms.” Students consistently misperceive the norms on a college or university campus. Of those who drink, the majority have four or fewer drinks. Most do not drink heavily.
- Encourage socializing without alcohol. Meeting people can be done in a variety of ways. Clubs and organizations, as well as the recreation center, offer plenty of opportunities to meet people and to learn something new.
The Fraternal Health and Safety Initiative provides a guide for parents on helping your college student engage in a safe and enjoyable fraternal experience.
READ GUIDE
Parents Clubs at the Chapter level
Your involvement in the creation of and/or support of a local chapter parents club will greatly assist ZBT in our efforts to provide your son with the best opportunity for a quality fraternity experience. We encourage you to ask your son if his chapter already has a parents club. If not, we encourage you to form one! Learn more.
Refer a future brother
Please share with us the names of any young men you know who would make great ZBTs. Your recommendations directly improve our fraternity.
Zeta Beta Tau Foundation’s Parent Club
Parents are valuable partners in this dynamic fraternity experience. Your financial support makes this possible through scholarships, educational programming and more. Gifts to Zeta Beta Tau Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows. Donate now.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to ZBT with additional questions.
