Colman Noctor: Supporting your child during the limbo days between results and CAO offers 

The days between Leaving Cert results and CAO offers are an exercise in patience for the parent and child. Picture: iStock 

FEW days in a young person’s life feel longer than those between receiving state exam results and waiting for college offers. This year, it falls between August 22 and 27. It’s a limbo of sorts. One door has closed, but the next hasn’t opened yet. The results have been viewed online or picked up at school, the numbers have been digested, and the first wave of emotion has passed. Now begins the uneasy stretch before the CAO decides where many will spend the next few years of their lives.

For parents, too, these days can be a test of patience and perspective. Your teenager may swing between excitement, dread, relief, and panic, sometimes all within the same hour. You, in turn, may feel pressure to strike the perfect balance between supportive and calm, without smothering or minimising their worry. It’s not easy.