Getting ready to send them off!

[Maggiethecat]

Have been doing lists of things to be done before Dd goes off but must admit there's a bit of burying head in sand going on.

What are you doing to help prepare Dc/yourself ahead of the move (practical/logistics or indeed emotional preparation )

I can't recall what they said on tours about crockery, what was included or not. Definitely there is some default kitchen equipment. DS will need 1 plate, 1 mug, one fork, one knife to eat with, one knife that can cut things, one sauce pan, one baking tray. One small chopping board is good idea. Washing up sponge & liquid. The only thing in that group we'd buy is the washing up liquid.

I was thinking an oversize shopping bag can hold laundry. We have a zillion spare towels & spare bedding. Probably will buy a clothes airer, that is the one purchase I anticipated. Will ask him about a lamp, we have a spare one. Turns out DS bought a 3 yr rail card a month ago, so that's done. Is happy with his current bank account.

I am going to dig around & see if we have some generic black trousers & white shirts that fit him. He is talking about getting a job in hospitality so would be helpful to have that 'uniform' ready.

The one thing DS was a bit anxious about was the timing of his maintenance & tuition instalment loans, what does he have to do when. He impressed me by having sorted his Uni emails into relevant folders. He logged in yesterday so we went thru the dates the deposit is due etc. and he's relaxed again.

After a roller coaster Wednesday night and Thursday last week it is now a confirmed place at Cambridge, our nearest university, for DS which is only 40 minutes away so we can relax a bit. However there is a driving test to fit in and some university eccentricities to deal with as well. Oh lord, but we will miss him.

DS will need 1 plate, 1 mug, one fork, one knife to eat

Possibly two of each? He might make friends and invite them into his flat for coffee, or a meal (also means he doesn't have to borrow until he can get to the shops - difficult if everyone else only takes one of each - should he break his singlee plate).

Not sure whether this has been mentioned already and I've missed it, but one of the most important things to send them off with is a full complement of immunisations...

Good printable list here

www.savethestudent.org/downloads/WhatToTakeToUniChecklist.pdf

Going back to immunisations, what are peoples thoughts on paying for the ones that our DC were not offered?

Meningitis B
HPV

I read this on the government website
*Recent data and analysis from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that in autumn 2021 there was an increase in the number of cases of meningococcal disease in teenagers and young adults, mainly caused by group B meningococcal disease (MenB) – with the majority among university students.

Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening infection caused by bacteria that can go on to cause meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning). There are 5 main meningococcal strains that cause disease in the UK. Men B is the most common strain in the UK and other strains include MenA, MenC, MenW and MenY.*

I've booked MenB for my DS at Superdrug. £109 per dose and you need two, four weeks apart.

From what I can gather it’s not required.

DD had all other vaccines at school incl hpv, they should all have had them in secondary.

I’ve got DC a box of stuff like cellotape pins spare medication sewing kit English money measuring tape string pegs phone card food card scissors cotton buds charging wire screw drivers etc so a junk drawer kit

Should come in handy!

They will have had MenACWY at school. MenB is optional and is not usually free on the NHS (maybe for some conditions it might be). I've read too many stories about youngsters dying of it that I didn't want to take the risk.

Question - are school jab records fed into NHS records? not sure what she's had TBH 🤔

We checked yesterday and found they were on DS's record. Could not see it on the app, only our full website

Our surgery put a list of vaccinations in the post to DD.

Ok, hope I can get dd's

Boys were not given the HPV vaccine.
Only those born since 1st September 2006 so both my boys missed out

I see @Fiddlersgreen . Can they get it now?

@Benjispruce4 not on the NHS.
I can’t remember what year they started giving boys HPV vaccine but the “catch up” programme only ran to those born sept 2006

How is your DD feeling now after his disappointment? DD seems to be coming round.

My DS. He’s happier with it now but he says he not as excited as he thought he would be. I think that’s do to with having to be apart from his girlfriend though

Sorry typo, I meant DS. Is his gf going away to uni? DD’s already away and about to start. 2nd year.

@Benjispruce4 yes she will be in Manchester, him in Leicester so not a million miles away

@MarchingFrogs and @Fiddlersgreen and other posters raising immunisation issue thank you so much. I naively assumed that she was up to date and didn’t think to check records.

Turns out that her records are incomplete! Nothing recorded since she was 6 although we think she would have received some through school (which I am trying to get to clarify but they don’t think she’s had HPV or men B!)

She had men C as a baby and school thinks they gave her men booster which I think may be a men W, A,C,Y combo(?)

I believe there’s a centralised system of dealing with immunisations so unlikely to be fault of the GP but you would have thought that a practice we’ve been at for 11 years would have picked up missing data 🤔

Will try to sort before she leaves, especially men B and HPV.

Glad you raised this @MarchingFrogs!

@ProfYaffle what's your dc siding and where's their accommodation in Bristol?

*studying