My son is going on his first residential to France this weekend. What am I forgetting?

[YoSof]

For four days I have packed -

Passport
health card
Refillable water bottle
toiletries including insect repellent, sun cream and anti histamines
One pair of joggers
two pairs of shorts
four tshirts
one hoodie
underwear and socks
Sliders and trainers
Sleeping bag and pillow
iphone battery pack thingy
Euros and some English pounds

What am I missing? Should I pack some snacks?

@YoSof I packed for my teenage children too for school trips. When the two boys got to 16 and 14 I let them pack themselves for a 4 night festival within our camping holiday - eldest packed his entire wardrobe, youngest packed 3 pairs of boxers and a t shirt. It got a little revised in the end

With regards to your son - if you've made a list for stuff to go in when the case leaves home, why not tape it inside the case so he can check the stuff off when he returns. Might save lots of lost possessions!

Love that! 😂. At least he knows clean underwear is top priority!

Thats a great idea, I’ll do that - he will be tired and just throw everything back in without checking if I know my son!

Make sure he's got a couple of pens/pencils if he's going to be doing worksheets etc.

I went camping in France with a school residential and I swear a hand held fan was needed!! It reached just over 42° one afternoon and we were in the middle of a market. Definitely get a little fan!

@YoSof not sure why people are being so horrible to you. Mumsnet attracts bullies that will pick on people for anything.
My 17 and 15 year olds went on school trips recently. They packed themselves and I am so glad I checked. The 15 year old had followed the list perfectly. The 17 year old had forgotten so many basics it was ridiculous!

My 14 year old DD went on a residential to France last month and I packed for her and also left a little note and sweets in her case. Like you OP I did it because I like doing nice things for her and she's so good most of the time. It's only on here that kids are meant to be fully independent by the age of 8.

I think everyone has covered most things, only thing I would add is a book- my ds' sometimes find it hard to sleep on trips away and having a book they like to read a nighttime seems to help- obviously depends on the child though.

With regards to the packing, I'm exactly the same, I pack for DS, even put a list for him to see, so he knows what's there. Packing is something he struggles with, yet like your ds he preps the dinner most night, sorts and puts out the recycling, hoovers, makes beds etc... so I have no great concerns about his ability to cope as an adult.

Thank you all for being so kind - I’m already anxious about him going away, I really didn’t need to be pulled apart and be bloody advanced searched to check the ages of my kids.

I have added all of your suggestions (the book is a top tip!), he has never been away without me before and so hasn’t got any experience of packing - he will help me so next time he can do it if he wants, if not I’ll be happy to help again! I don’t want his first trip abroad without me to be any more stressful for him than it already is - my mum packed for my residential trips, and my brothers, and we always found a nice note or a little treat in there. We’re both well rounded independent adults!

A word of warning on the notes.

I’ve done that twice for one of mine. Both times it arrived back unopened ‘I didn’t know it was for me to open’.

despite the really big obvious name on the front 😂😂😬

If he has never been away without you before, I would definitely do packing together and make sure he can get everything into his case easily. A pack of cards can be a good thing to take too

@toomuchlaundry pack of cards, brilliant!

@AppleKatie 😂 my son would refuse to open it because he knows what it would be and he’s far too cool for notes from his mum!

OP my DS has just turned 13.
I ALWAYS pack for him, Jesus Christ, if he packed for himself?!?! He wouldn't even take pants. He'd probably take his phone and AirPods. That would be him sorted

I am in awe of your boy hoovering and cooking etc. it's a daily battle to even get mine to have a shower and put his dirty underwear in the wash basket.

Kudos to you.

And actually why WOULDN'T you pack-if something important is forgotten it's not like he can pop home from France to collect it

Teddy in the bottom of the sleeping bag. Never to be seen but comfortingly there.

Packing yourself from age 8. LOL. As if

Ignore the trolls OP. It's perfectly normal to supervise packing for your kids and teens. My 18y old really appreciates my help and I got a nice pack of chocolate from duty free back as thanks. My 12y old recently went on a trip to France and he actually said to me when he got back that he was glad I helped him as his roomates didn't have travel adapters so couldn't charge their phones, one didn't have swim shorts so couldn't go swimming and one had no Euros so couldn't buy a souvenir. It's mean to put kids in that position, away from home and feeling more vulnerable.

He not growing up useless either, he was literally the only kid on the trip that didn't lose something be ause he asked me to send him a reminder list of everything that we'd put in his rucksack so he could check it each time they got on and off the bus.

And yes the pants never all get worn 🤣

My DD(14) is going to France and Belgium in 2 weeks. It will be her first trip abroad without us too. I will be helping her pack, love all the suggestions on this thread, I hadn't thought about a thin coat and I love the idea of putting a note in there :)

I will be honest I'm so nervous about her being in a different country without me!

Ignore the troll-hunters. Some people just have nothing better to do with their time!!

Crikey, some of the threads on here these days are just full of vipers! Talk about mob mentality.
My son is also going on a residential to France soon. The only things I can think of that have been missed are setting his phone up for roaming if he's going to want to use it for calls etc, a bank card for emergencies and a lot of snacks (he'll probably be sharing!) Does he need goggles for swimming and a separate towel?
DS will be buying meals on the boat but rather than giving him Stirling cash I'm just sending the money to his bank account. He will have a small amount of euros to use there.

A couple of plastic bags for dirty/wet gear

Plug adaptor

Scan/photo of passport photo page an bank card front and back - you and he need this in case of emergency.

I always take a small notebook and pen

He needs a list and a bag.

Just check once he has done it that passport and money is packed. 👍

Thank you all so much.

Lots of things I hadn’t thought of including photographing his passport!

He is a good lad, I’m not saying his cleaning up or cooking is perfect but he’s learning - his dad was brought up to contribute to cooking and cleaning too so he has always had a good role model in that sense.

For all the other mums of kids going on residential soon - the school told us that using mobiles while on the ferry is really expensive, so they recommend turning them off while on board. Just to avoid any expensive surprises when they get back!

Travel adapter
Plasters
Paracetamol
Soap
Deo
Water bottle

A couple of plug convertors get them in Boots.