Thread 21 Corona Cohort - Nervous waiting, so frustrating

[Monkey2001]

Continuation of OrangeCinnamonCocktail's threads

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

Previous thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/a4354626-Corona-Cohort-Statements-Scripted-Grades-Predicted?msgid=111487286#111487286

Wow, lots of us with DC and poor eyesight! They really need to stop growing to let them settle down.

I don't think there will be issues, she's had a few infections and I think the optician put the fear of god up her on severity of infections from unhygienic surroundings so she's ultra cautious. I'm looking forward to not pealing bits of dried lenses off the walls where she's missed the bin though...

Interesting article on ADHD in women on BBC today :
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59038116

Putting it here just in case it rings any bells for anyone, can be had without the hyperactivity which I think makes it much harder to spot.

peel not peal!

Not wanting to derail, but I'm guessing your prescription did not enable you to consider laser surgery @EerilyDisembodied?

We've even had to go through the uncomfortable conversation of controlled spontaneity (oxymoron?) of when she decides to do a sleep-over that wasn't 'planned'. Or maybe she gets into the habit of taking out a handbag to keep spare lenses/glasses in?

Not sure if it's this generation or just mine, but handbag concept hasn't sunk in yet. And you can tell I've clearly had to rescue her from some wall-hugging moments when a lens has popped out (quite often when she's had a big cry at school), and the concept of back-ups is lost.

@ealingwestmum I've never seriously considered surgery, it would have to be lens replacement for me I think. I have worn contact lenses full time without any major issues since I was 17 (50s now). It does cost a small fortune, a friend was moaning about the cost of her first eye test in 20 years when she started needing reading glasses and I told her what my eyesight costs me, she went a bit quiet!

If spontaneous sleepovers are a problem (I can't remember quite how I got round that one ), it might be worth asking her optician if she can try silicone hydrogel lenses, they are licensed for sleeping in, although it is better not to all the time. I had rigid gas permeables till I was about 35 and no way could you sleep in those, I switched to silicone hydrogels then and it was a total gamechanger when waking up with babies in the night, I could see without having to fumble for glasses.

I never carry spare lenses or my glasses apart from when I'm on holiday, but I keep my old glasses in the car for emergencies and have never needed them. The silicone hydrogels seem to stay in even if I have had a cry but I don't very often.

They are fortnightly or monthly lenses BTW, not daily.

Thank you EerilyD. She asked last week about the type of lenses that mould to your eyes overnight (don't know what they're called) and he told her those only went up to -4. She's become less bothered about surgery of late, I think because like Seeline's DD, it worsens each test.

Btw I am not so liberal to actively promote what we all know I am referring to, just a realist and I'd rather she was able to talk to me about this type of stuff even though inside I am cringing

@ealingwestmum -shows how unaware I am of lenses - I hadn't even thought of that one!! DD does usually take her glasses with her if she is wearing lenses, especially for school. And she is very good at washing hands etc before putting lenses in/out. I think lens-wearing DH has drummed that one into her. But yes, she has little experience of going out in the evenings what with covid and being so young, and rarely takes a bag. Will have to address that one. But like you I will not miss the dried up little blue plastic bits scattered everywhere - do any of them reach the bin?!

And all this is in preparation for Sept/Oct onwards. I feel like it's Y5/Y6 all over again. Getting DD to walk to school alone in preparation for the tube. Crossing to the other side of the road if she saw a parked up white van with workmen etc etc. Knowing which houses she could run to and bang on their doors.

Local parents thought I was mad very judgey, as they continued to drive their kids to school for another 4 years or so. Three roads away.

I put it all down to my project management days, trying to mitigate risks. It has come back to bite me....

It is so strange how we all think alike. This week I have tasked Dd with washing up her own used stuff...we don't have a dishwasher. It doesn't sound like much but she has a real aversion to wet food in dishwater blah, blah...currently the one job I cant get her to do. I also did a mock tesco shopping order with her...it was truly awful.

Fruit and veg consisted of frozen peas, tinnedtoms cucumber, mango, raspberries, two fruit juices and beans (stretching)
Main meals: Pasta, steak or noodles, eggs, pukka pie
Breakfast: cocopops and 1 pt of milk (!)
Lunch stuff was ridiculous...Lunchables and Dairylea Dunkers (wtf)
Frozen smiley faces (wtf again!)
One tropical WKD for booze
Eclairs, donuts, chocolate milk etc

I feel I have work to do. I must remember to go and delete all the crap out of my basket...it came to around 40 quid !

That's healthier than how I eat ! slinks off in shame

I also did a mock tesco shopping order with her...it was truly awful.

They soon learn! I really did very little prep with DS. He was vaguely aware of how to cook, but mainly through scout camp so I'm not sure that an open fire would be the best preparation! I taught him how to sort washing, but didn't really bother with the machine as the ones there would work differently. We worked out how much he could spend each week, and that was about it.

He has survived his first year. Mastered washing, shopping (very fond of Lidl!!), cooking and cleaning!! I get the occasional call home asking for help on freezing/defrosting food etc, but he has managed surprisingly well. He moved into a private rental in August and since then I have had to help with changing a weird light bulb (Facetime) and setting the controls for the boiler (YouTube video). At least it means I get to have a chat!!

Can I join the 'received an offer' group. DS is so happy that he has something in black and white to aim for. He actually used the word 'motivated' - something he has been lacking for a while. Just 3A's to get now 😬

Haha, I've been thinking about these things too! Dd would live off pasta and pesto and perhaps some freezer food and lots of crap..

She does wash up though. One thing she doesn't do is change her bedding very regularly. And she has a habit of using all over fake tan. I just noticed her sheet looking very brown earlier

I've also been thinking about including the proximity of an Aldi/Lidl to accommodation as one of the factors in choosing a university! But maybe that's being a bit too specific. I've heard of students relying on the campus Co-Op or Spar though and that would be sooo expensive.

Well done to your ds @mummyinbeds

Ooh, exciting! Where for?

DS has glasses but does have overnight retainers for his teeth : not quite the same issue as lenses but I do wonder whether adults really maintain these retainer regimes.

DH used to have lenses . He was awful with them and basically wrecked them all, so gave up on them and seemed to still manage to play cricket!

@Piggywaspushed the offer is for Birmingham. They told him at the open day that they wouldn't be making any decisions until after the January deadline so it was a nice surprise.

He's celebrated by cooking himself a pizza. He managed to turn the oven on and remove the plastic packaging. We'll ignore the nicely browned cardboard base that just came out of the oven 🤣

Bless him!

We have a Birmingham offer too so they definitely are offering upon receipt.

Well done to all on the Birmingham offers!

A maybe daft question on those who have had a confirmation from Durham. DD has logged into the portal, and completed the college list ranking. But, it also has a bunch of other to completes, list of GCSE grades (or transcript), alternative PS etc.

Does she need to add anything else for the application to be considered at this stage? Apologies as I didn't see it myself, so she could have been lazy and it does all need completing....

Fab news on Brum offers! Well done to DC of @Piggywaspushed @mummyinbeds

Congratulations to Mummyinbeds DS. We went for the recent open day as well and it looked great.

Re: glasses, We all wear glasses in our house. DS1 wears contact as well and I have had laser surgery (2014) but if i'd known what I know now wouldn't have had it.

Good to hear of offers coming in. I’m now being told that we can’t submit because we have an open day coming up at Birmingham and she might not like it., and that would change everything. I don’t want to make her panic , but she could change her mind endlessly and then still expects everything to be available.
My others have all come back from their 1st year saying that they had been completely clueless, and how had we put up with them so maybe it will be the same.
Mine has shown very little interest in clothes shopping, and prefers me to buy her stuff, at 18! But no matter how much I say , tell me if you don’t like it or if it doesn’t fit, a year later she’s putting itout for the charity shop complete with covetable labels. So I said she needed to get her own and set a generous budget. She’s bought nothing except her Halloween costume, which she has discussed in minute detail. She’s got 1 set of footwear , and they are scruffy, everything else is too small or hurts. Buy some trainers already!

Congrats to Mummyinbeds,getting that first offer must be a relief.

Anyone have any opinion / experience of Aston Uni? DS has Nottingham as his first choice at (probably) AAB, so looking for potential insurance choices and Aston's standard offer is BBB.

@singingstones I live in Birmingham and used to work for one of the big accountancy firms. We had a few Aston graduates and they were all good. Their courses seem more industry/work related? What does your ds want to do?

My year 11 ds is at a grammar school in inner Birmingham which is majority Asian, and I know a lot of Asian families prefer their kids to stay at home (broad generalisation I know). Out of about 100, they usually send about 30 to Aston and 25 to Birmingham.

It's based in the city centre; in fact I got sent by satnav on a long detour recently, a route I'd never taken before and it went through the Aston campus. It was nicer than I expected and very close to the campus of Birmingham City University too.

Totally random fact, but I was looking up the history of the GymShark brand, as the 2 lads that started it went to a local school where my mum used to teach. At least one of them, possibly both, went to Aston!