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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Student Survival Kit - what would you put in yours?

70 replies

ArtyFartyQueen · 20/08/2023 19:22

I'm pulling together a guide and also a box full of (hopefully) useful items for DS and looking for some ideas....

What would/have you put in yours?

OP posts:
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6
BabyStopCryin · 25/08/2023 18:56

I’ve been teaching ds how to make an ‘emergency dinner’ and why he needs to keep in the back of the cupboard/freezer to be able to whip up something edible if necessary.

I think he’s excited about it all. I’m missing him already!

Peony654 · 25/08/2023 19:05

HappiDaze · 20/08/2023 19:27

Imagine your new Uni friends finding a survival guide your mum has written for you.

You'd get ripped to shreds for the next 3 yrs

This. So mortifying. They’re an adult now - leave them be.

WhenIWasAFieldMyself · 25/08/2023 20:22

Peony654 · 25/08/2023 19:05

This. So mortifying. They’re an adult now - leave them be.

Show quote history

I think you might not have kids going to uni?
They all bring these useful and humourous kits with them.
It's a thing.
Anybody turning up without such things will be the ones pitied.

Pebbles16 · 25/08/2023 20:29

If in private rented, an electric blanket - best advice my sixth form tutor ever gave me (30+ years ago)

IWillNoLie · 25/08/2023 20:37

In terms of just giving them money… my ds will still be 17 when he goes. We went shopping today and it needed an age check to buy a cutlery set as it contained dinner knives. So I am also going to get him a paring knife and a bigger sharp multipurpose kitchen knife so he doesn’t have to ask a new flat mate to buy it for him.

Original poster
ArtyFartyQueen · 26/08/2023 17:45

SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 25/08/2023 09:49

@ArtyFartyQueen I'd also recommend asking in the SN Teens Section to see if any of the MNers in there have specific tips for ASD teens. Is he staying in a quiet flat?

Thank you - that's a good suggestion. No idea if the flat is quiet, but at the moment he only has 2 flatmates so maybe?!

OP posts:
Original poster
ArtyFartyQueen · 26/08/2023 17:46

Aparecium · 25/08/2023 10:17

Dd asked for a housekeeping advice sheet. She could, obviously do all the cooking, laundry, cleaning tasks, but felt overwhelmed about taking responsibility for all of them. And she didn't want to keep phoning me to ask advice. So I made up a little pamphlet for her.

That pamphlet lived on her pinboard for the full year, and her new friends asked for copies.

My dc's emergency boxes were rice, tuna and pesto (easy-cook foods in case they run out of cash), plasters, cough sweets and a packet of paracetamol. Ds just graduated, and proudly returned his box unopened. Apparently it's a po int of pride for all of them that they can cope without opening the emergency box.

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Don't suppose you'd be happy to share your advice sheet would you? I'm pulling one together but would be great to see an example!

OP posts:
RenoDakota · 26/08/2023 17:54

Am I the only one who finds the idea of parents buying condoms for their adult children achingly cringey? Surely there are some things, like this, that they can and should do for themselves?

Aparecium · 26/08/2023 18:28

Sure, but I don't know how to share a document.

Aparecium · 26/08/2023 18:33

Dur - screenshots.

It was an 8 page A5 pamphlet (ie 2 sheets of A4) with a lined page for handwritten additions.

Student Survival Kit - what would you put in yours?
Student Survival Kit - what would you put in yours?
Aparecium · 26/08/2023 18:34

Can only post 3 pics at a time.

Student Survival Kit - what would you put in yours?
Student Survival Kit - what would you put in yours?
MrsFiddle · 26/08/2023 18:40

Kitchen roll and a bottle of spray bleach cleaner !

gogomoto · 26/08/2023 18:43

Basic recipes plus the equipment to make them, basic seasonings and long life ingredients. Corkscrew, table setting for 2.

DragonFly98 · 26/08/2023 18:44

Badbadbunny · 20/08/2023 19:55

Door stops is old advice, no longer relevant. Unis tell students NOT to use them as they're a fire risk - the flat doors are fire doors (per fire regulations) so using anything to keep them open is a massive fire risk.

Students don't need to have open doors to make friends, these days they use whatsapp or other online messaging group to create a "flat group" where they can chat to each other and get friendly, also highly useful for arranging flat activities, socialising, shopping, etc.

On my son's first day, him and the other 7 students were busy enough sorting out their rooms with parents, etc. One of them set up a group chat and put the details under everyone's doors, and by the end of the day, they'd all introduced themselves online, and had negotiated a time that evening to meet up in the kitchen ready to go out on a campus bar crawl.

open doors are fine in the day it's whej you are sleeping they need to be shut.

OvertiredandConfused · 26/08/2023 18:52

Vodka, berocca, coffee are what my DS regards as essentials. Plus a charging cable.

He's also used the printed list of phone numbers and the netflix password that I stuck to the bottomof his desk drawer. Hardly any students know how to contact anyone if they loose or break their phone.

Although accepted reluctantly, a home-packed first aid kit (mainly cold & flu remedies and headache pills) and a tool kit have both been used regularly.

HelterSkelter224 · 26/08/2023 19:40

HappiDaze · 20/08/2023 19:27

Imagine your new Uni friends finding a survival guide your mum has written for you.

You'd get ripped to shreds for the next 3 yrs

No, this is unfair. This is a nice thing to do.

HelterSkelter224 · 26/08/2023 19:46

I think this is such a lovely thought, I'm pretty sure when I moved to uni I didn't get so much as a lift to the bus 😅 I learned about not owning a corkscrew the hard way (I suggest a bottle opener / corkscrew!)

RancidOldHag · 26/08/2023 21:49

RenoDakota · 26/08/2023 17:54

Am I the only one who finds the idea of parents buying condoms for their adult children achingly cringey? Surely there are some things, like this, that they can and should do for themselves?

Yes, they can, should and will.

But if they get carried away, I'd rather they had some to hand (right from the first day they are there).

blutterfly · 29/08/2023 21:01

Aparecium · 26/08/2023 18:34

Can only post 3 pics at a time.

I have learned some valuable lessons from these sheets!

Totes agree on the leftover pizza comment btw

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