College Goodbyes Hit " Velcro" Parents Hardest

Letting go is hard to do.

As parents of college-bound kids around the country will find in coming weeks, it's tough to see the baby you once held suddenly turn the corner and walk out of your world into another -- filled with people you've never met and places you've never been. Not  to mention, all those adult choices.

But some parents simply don't want to let that corner be turned. Instead, they follow -- and follow.

How  colleges are dealing with the difficult, and often complex process of  saying goodbye tis highlighted in a New York Times article, "Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home."

 At Morehouse College in Atlanta, for instance, a gate separating  kids from their parents closes during a parting ceremony. At Princeton, blunt language of "for students only" is used on move-in literature. At Grinnell College, parents and kids are ushered to different areas.

But the physical act of letting go isn't easy -- particularly in the age of  Skype and texts..

So how should saying goodbye be handled today? Or, are goodbyes simply outdated?

Let us know how you dealt with your child's first days at college. Was it easier or harder than you thought?

Also: How often do you contact your child? Did your relationship with your child change in the first year of college?

Feel free to share your experiences.