DS2 First Lad’s Holiday….has he remembered everything?

[MonkeyTennis34]

He’s going to Portugal with 4 mates.
He's got T-shirts, shorts, trunks.
SPF, deodorant, shower gel,
Printing out boarding passes later.
Is there anything glaringly obvious they he’s forgotten?
Lots going on at home right now so I haven’t been on the ball 100%.
Tia

Why are you getting involved, OP? He can sort himself out, so just leave him to it. They have shops in Portugal, so he can buy anything he forgets. This is how he learns, and so he absolutely does NOT need his mummy to do his packing!

All of the above.

I helped my elder 2 (both sexes) get ready for their first holidays abroad precisely because it was their first trips abroad and they need advice, and both are now perfectly responsible, capable adults. Our youngest goes on his first holiday next week and I'm doing the same with him. Trips abroad are not cheap so it's common sense to do what you can to minimise the risk of something going wrong, and if something does go wrong then it's also common sense to have insurance etc in place.

This. Now is the time for him to learn, if he hasn’t already. It’s Portugal not back packing in Africa. Anything he doesn’t have he can buy. I very firmly believe that our job as parents is to get them to stand on their own two feet. I have a friend who still packs for her husband and daughter aged 60 and 15. Absolutely bonkers.

More fool her! If he’s old enough to holiday alone he’s old enough to pack for it

You are packing for your 18-year old?

What a weird thread.

Bless you @MonkeyTennis34
I totally understand where you're coming from but the clue is in your title....
It's HIS first holiday. He is travelling to a developed country where he can access anything that he's forgotten. Anything that happens due to forgetting to pack something will be another one of life's lessons & probably something him & his friends will laugh about later.
Wish him well, and don't ask for too many details when he returns. These things are best left unsaid between parents and adult children.

condoms. aftersun, paracetamol sunspecs dioralyte!!! anti diarrhoea meds!!

Surely he's been away from home before....my kids packed their own bag for family hols, scout trips etc as teenagers.
The kad probably has, mine went to Germany ,Iceland and Finland with scouts.
However he didn't have to sort out Insurance, E sim for roaming mobile use, etc.
It doesn't do any harm to have a reminder or a refresh of what's needed.

Honestly all those saying he should get on with it, do just stop support and say ' 'you're old enough to sort yourself out' if they ask for a bit of advice.

Personally I checked in with my lads and asked if they got everything and then said 'what about.......?'
Its nice to be nice and it doesn't make them useless ( unless you are doing everything for them of course which isn't the case here)

Also if its the first trip away with out other adults who would normally support it can make you a bit anxious if you've never done it before..

fruitflavouredmilk
You are packing for your 18-year old

Op's has never said that.
From opening post
Is there anything glaringly obvious they he’s forgotten?

Ive no idea why people would want to ask advice about their son's when the attitude seems to be 'sod 'em, they can sort themselves out' ( even when they are sorting themselves out!)

Phone charger!! DS flew out to his European destination on Thursday morning and forgot his🤪

He flew out to a music festival on his own and is enjoying his time meeting folk there.

Gah!
He’s got insurance but not the ghic card. Hopefully he won’t need it…

This is why we've got a pandemic of useless men because their mummies just can't cut the umbilical cord..

Unlike a friend of DS who said (also aged 18) that he isn't allowed to go abroad on his own🤔.

You have to let go at some point and they do need to make their own mistakes.

Just been up to his room…he’s sharing a case with a mate to save money…how many pairs of trainers does one youngster need?!

DS didn't panic, just bought a phone charger when he got there. No biggie.

What an ick. All the right stuff packed but his mummy sorted everything for him. Let go op. You’re not doing him any favours. 🙄

Surely he can ‘grab’ his own STI kit then.

After the Jay Slater no battery situation I asked my teenagers to put ‘what three words’ on their phone.

None tbh, it’s going to be too hot! One pair to wear through the airport then sliders or sandals to wear over there

As long as he’s got his phone, passport and boarding pass and any medication he’s on, there’s nothing he’ll need that he won’t be able to buy easily in Portugal.

Paracetamol and ibuprofen can be pricey in some European countries and he’ll definitely have hangovers so maybe tell him to take some of those with him. Otherwise, relax. He’s going drinking in Portugal, not trekking through uncharted rainforests.

I think as long as he applies for one now it’s fine, he doesn’t actually need a physical card

Why would they need help with packing, though? An adult shouldn’t need help with packing a case any more than they should need help putting on their shoes or making themselves a drink.

Do ever they pack for you?

If you organise the ghic now, you get a number you can use straightaway before the card arrived. Well it took 24 hours but that's what I did.