College continues to get more and more expensive: The average total cost at private colleges and universities topped the $40,000 mark during the 2013-14 academic year, according to the College Board. And given that tuition and fees are rising at a 3 percent to 4 percent clip annually, and have far outpaced both inflation and wage growth for many years, many families have had to resort to large student loans to cover the costs.

As a result, parents have to be smarter than ever about making sure they avoid what can be catastrophic financial mistakes. To help you make better decisions, here are four things that every parent should know about student loan debt.