So you've finally packed your 18 year old bundle of joy off for their first year at university and maybe it feels like the final step on what has been a hard road so far...
First of all your child had to choose a university to apply to and spent literally minutes completely ignoring glossy prospectuses. And there were visits to arrange to universities, chosen purely on the length of the student union bar and whether the accommodation had an en-suite. And going to university open days: hours and hours of schlepping around campus after campus when you'd much rather be checking out the local shopping centre. Purely for research purposes, obviously.
And then there were the exams and all that accompany them: the nerves, the worry, the sleepless nights, tears and heavy drinking.