Things Your College Kid Is Too Embarrassed to Ask You to Send

When your college student needs $150 for a textbook or realizes they forgot to pay some fee on campus, chances are…you’re going to hear about it.

What they might not tell you is that they ran out of deodorant four days ago, that they’ve been rationing their last few laundry pods, or that they really wish they had that warmer coat that you tried so hard to convince them they’d need.

Part of going away to college is learning how to take care of yourself and how to become self-sufficient, but sometimes it means calling home when you need help figuring something out. Even if that something is how to afford to do laundry when you accidentally overspent on food.

There are so many things you son or daughter may need, miss, or simply want that they are too embarrassed to ask you for. These are the things your college student would love to have without ever having to ask you to send it.

1. Grocery or Food Delivery Money

There’s a pretty good chance your college student is going to be too embarrassed to call home and admit that they spent a little too much money this month.

They may be embarrassed to admit they’re out of grocery money or simply don’t want you to worry.

A little extra food money can be such a welcome surprise when you’re a college student living on a budget!

A grocery store gift card, a small money transfer, or even a gift card to their favorite restaurant looks like a small gift from home…but may feel like a huge weight off of their shoulders.

2. Toiletries They’ve Run Out Of

I remember all too well just how long I could stretch the last of my shampoo when I was in college.

Deodorant, razors, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, and other every day toiletries aren’t fun purchases to make when you have an extremely limited budget.

Randomly sending your child a care package filled with the toiletries you know they use (and maybe a few luxuries you know they wouldn’t buy on their own) will go a long way in helping them to feel like they’re cared for and have all that they need.

3. Period Products and Personal Hygiene Items

Period products and other personal hygiene products are another one of those expenses that are easy to forget about until you need them.

Even if your daughter has no problem asking you for other things, she may not exactly want to call home and ask you to send tampons or pads.

If you know which products she normally uses, send way more than necessary with her next care package. Include other personal care items or toiletries you know she uses.

Having a supply tucked away in her dorm means she won’t have to worry about running out at the worst possible time.

4. Over-the-Counter Medicine

This one is as much for my son and daughter as it is for me.

I love knowing my kids have the right supplies on hand if ever they get sick.

Keeping some basic over-the-counter medications on hand means they won’t have to make a trip to the store when they’re already feeling miserable.

I also love to send high dose vitamin C packets that they can take when they first start to feel an illness coming on.

Other items you may want to send are things like cold medicine, pain relievers, Pepto Bismol, cough drops, allergy medicine…

You know your child and their health better than just about anyone. Making sure they have the basics on hand will give you peace of mind and I’m sure they’ll feel a little better knowing they’re prepared too.

I also included an electric heating pad and reusable ice packs in a recent care package. I used them so much with my kids while they were growing up and I love knowing they have those things with them when I can’t be there to take care of them myself.

5. New Underwear and Socks

Listen, you lived with these kids just like I lived with mine.

We all know that they aren’t in a huge hurry to do their laundry…and we know just how low the standards were for clean clothes when they were under our own roof. Can you imagine how long they’re waiting to do laundry now that you aren’t there to nag them about it?

All jokes aside, sending new underwear and socks is going to be a welcome gift for any college student.

I add some of each to every care package I send!

6. Skin Care and Acne Products

So many lifestyle changes at once, between moving out on their own for the first time to staying up later than ever and surviving on fast food and snacks for weeks on end can mean dealing with acne and other skin issues for your college student.

Sending skin care and acne products means your child will have one less thing to worry about buying themselves.

Going away to college is hard enough already without adding one more thing to be self-conscious about! Including some face wash and spot treatments in your next box to your college student is one small way to help!

7. Laundry Supplies

Eventually, even that brand new pack of underwear and socks you sent is going to run out and your college student will have no choice but to do their own laundry.

If they aren’t bringing laundry home for you to do every weekend, sending them the basics to do it themselves is a thoughtful and helpful gift.

Detergent pods are super convenient when they’re carrying their laundry back and forth from the laundry room. It’s way easier than carrying a whole jug of detergent!

Some dryer sheets, stain remover, or whatever your family usually uses are also a good idea, maybe followed by a text explaining when to use each stain product.

I love to include color-catching sheets because I know my son isn’t going to take the time to separate his laundry! It’s all going in the same washer, no matter what I say.

If their college has laundry cards, adding a few dollars to it is another easy way to help.

8. Warmer Clothes or Winter Gear

Remember the coat you told them to pack before they left for college that your student was sure they’d never need?

There’s a solid chance that by now, they’re realizing they underestimated the weather…and they’ll probably never admit you were right about the coat.

College students who move somewhere colder may have no idea just how cold it actually gets. Even if they’re going to school right down the road, your son or daughter has probably never had to walk across campus in cold weather before.

A warm coat and some climate-appropriate winter gear will almost definitely get daily use, and they’ll be thrilled they didn’t have to admit you were right in order to get it!

9. Help With an ‘Oops’ Expense

On probably more than one occasion, your college student is going to make a mistake that costs them money.

Either they’ll get a parking ticket, they’ll lose their student ID, they’ll forget to pay something and will get hit with a late fee…

You can suggest to them a “no-questions-asked ‘oops fund'” for exactly these moments.

I wouldn’t be worried that this will make them less responsible or feeling like you’re costing them a life lesson.

Getting a little do-over almost never happens in life. Making this huge college-transition easier for our kids is such a loving thing we can do as parents.

There will be plenty of time for life to teach them the hard lessons. Not every late fee has to be one of them.

10. Something From Home

College is such a bittersweet time in life.

I can almost guarantee you that your child was counting down the days until they moved into their dorm, expecting it to be the time of their life that everyone talks about.

I can also guarantee you that the home sickness is hitting way harder than they expected.

Send their favorite snacks, a handwritten note, pictures from home that have been hanging on the wall for years…

Even send them videos of the family dog.

They may not miss the annoying parts of sharing a home with siblings or following house rules, but they are almost definitely realizing just how much good there was about life at home, even with those minor annoyances.

Just a quick reminder that home misses them too just might be exactly what your son or daughter needs.

How to Send These Without Making It Weird

The easiest way to send all of this stuff without making it weird is to just make sending care packages a monthly thing.

It doesn’t have to feel like you’re questioning their ability to handle life on their own. If you’re like me, you just want to help make your child’s life a little easier.

If a box shows up every month with snacks and other random household and self-care purchases, I can almost promise you that this will start to be something they look forward to.

If a monthly box feels like too much, you can always use the “I was at Target anyway” excuse. No lectures or invasive questions. Just “I thought of you when I saw this at the store and thought you might like it.”

Who doesn’t love when someone thinks of them when they see laundry pods?

If you need more ideas, we have a whole list of Care Package Items that your son or daughter will be excited to get!

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, these care packages are about so much more than the things in them.

Every little thing you send is a reminder that you will always be there for them, no matter how far away they are. You can give them space to figure out their new lives on their own without giving up the little ways you’ve always taken care of them.

Even though our kids don’t need us in the same ways they did when they were younger, they still need to know we’re there when they need us.

Just showing that you’re available when they need you by sending a box full of their favorite things, plus some things they didn’t even realize they needed, is a great way to remind them that home is never that far away.