I think living in a dorm instead of at home helps to develop that natural separation, especially if you’re more hands off in the first few months. Though, I see nothing wrong with having a routine of meeting up on a regular or semi-regular basis if that’s what you both want! I think it’s a cool opportunity to get to know your child as they transition to adulthood. At the university where I used to work, my coworker’s daughter stayed local for college but chose to live in a dorm. She met her mom every Friday for lunch in the campus dining hall to catch up, which eventually turned into half of our office joining every Friday too. The daughter’s boyfriend and a few friends joined the group, as did my husband who was a professor on campus (and my husband eventually became the honors thesis advisor for the boyfriend). We were all so attached to that lunch group that we used to move the start time to accommodate the class schedules of the students. The daughter did her own thing the rest of the week and on most weekends, but those Friday lunches were their check-in/catch up times that helped them stay close. It’s been years since we had that lunch group and both the daughter and boyfriend moved away and completed graduate school elsewhere, but the group all just attended their wedding recently and reunited.
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