When your child reaches college age, you can proudly view them as a full-fledged adult capable of making their own choices and mistakes. However, some mistakes can be too overwhelming for a young adult to face alone.
If your child is under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, then they have a bonafide criminal defense case looming over them. The college student in your life likely feels a great deal of anxiety toward facing the very real consequences of a one-off lapse in judgment, but there are things you can do to help.
Find the professional help they need
As a parent, your first priority is to rationally seek out the professional assistance your child needs. make sure that your college student has a team to advocate for their legal rights in a DUI trial. You should also consider how the whole series of events will impact your child’s mental health, and look into therapy services that can help a young person come to terms with receiving a criminal charge.
Be supportive through the whole process
What your child needs more than anything is for you, as a trusted family member, to be a constant ally. While your instinct might be to reprimand your child for doing something illegal, it is likely that they understand and simply require support rather than punishment.
Receiving a criminal charge can be traumatic for anyone, especially a young college student who is facing the reality of how their actions can hurt someone else for the first time. Though you may want to sternly steer your child in a different direction, you might have to recognize that your kid is an adult who just needs a helping hand from time to time.
