Thread 39 - Covid Cohort - Our Adult Children Now Post 18

[CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee]

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results ( or life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). 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, uni vs employment please don't within this thread.

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. We were previously on the secondary board and then further education, now we shall be here in 'Parents of Adult Children' gulp

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed). Be warned there might be lots of 'Uni Freshers' chat this time of year. My experience is that everyone is welcomed wherever, whatever their child is doing we have some in work, gap years , apprenticeships etc too. Lots of contributors with different experiences and always sympathy and support to be had !

@boxcar DS took cheaper instrument into halls. 2nd year he had a bigger / more secure room, so felt safer with the good stuff!

We took out Allianz insurance - they do a student deal for multiple instruments but were picky about student flats without locks on the individual bedroom doors.

Stand by your beds. Buying stuff for your kids for uni is hysteria annual thread dropped. DO NOT MENTION BACKPACKS.

Oops, I contributed to that! DD has shown the first wobble/anxiety about moving away today, but given that it's this coming Thursday, I think we've been fairly lucky about holding that off.

Saw the TES uni of the year 2022 shortlist includes Plymouth specifically for Marine - so that is nice as DS is going for Marine. Would be nice if it won, I’m getting bored of explaining why he preferred it over Southampton..!

We’ve been moving more stuff from old house today and come back to DS having put a wash on which was good 🙂 He’s helping unloading and I was thinking next time we do this it will be him going to Bath.

Whatever you do, don't buy her something nice photodad. Make her walk barefoot, duvet strapped to back and pans on her head, like we did in the 90s.

My DS was talking about Bake Off and we realised we wouldn't cuddle up and watch it together 😒

That's great!

Don't worry, @Piggywaspushed, I'll make her suffer! (Although actually she wants to move with the minimum and buy stuff there -- her choice.)

@fruity I agree it's a good diversion tactic. I'm still curious who these 3 universities are though and what the data is on their latest results.

Same with DS and the World Cup - who will fill out the wall chart?? 🥺

Oh yes. DS won't do his league table ladder or change the page on the kitten calendar.

Also, the recycling will never be emptied.

I mentioned this upthread ^^ but for me it was going a Tesco online shop and not including DD's favourite food/drinks!

That was me today, shopping and realising that I won't need to buy come of these things again till Christmas now.

I saw the ad for Strictly - starts the day before DD moves in. We always watch that together....🥹

We’ll have to watch it together on here @Seeline

Good idea @EspeciallyDivided !

@DoggerelBank and other pps, thanks for the supportive comments about DS and interrail trip. I'm still jittery but ignoring it, now we've had some communications.☎️
Your DS going alone sounds much more jittery!😐 but then this is just a taster before Africa for mine🤔

I usually do Strictly thread but it takes itself quite seriously and they do keep falling out...

Yes I was thinking about Strictly
Why not mention backpacks?!

It's an in joke for Shimy...

@KingscoteStaff Thanks for the insurance information. He plays guitar & sings so wants to do open mic nights & hopes to get a band together.

I’ve been laughing at the shopping comments. My mum said that when I left home she realised how much cheese I eat. With both DS & DD going my shopping lists are going to change dramatically.

Shopping. We are looking forward to more adventurous eating, and lots more veggie stuff, so she’ll probably come back vegan, whereas she currently lives on sweets,Nutella, meat pizza and bacon, but not together. I’m also really looking forward to not having snacks in the house. And she’s forever whacking up the central heating , won’t miss that.
But I’ll miss her chatter, and she proper keeps ds in check. And she stops us all feeding pets from the table. We love cleaning up the kitchen together after Sunday dinner, dancing about and discussing everything.House will go to rack and ruin without her!

Yep - shopping/eating will change here too. DD is a very fussy eater, and has developed a gluten intolerance over the last year or so, so family meals are fairly restricted at the moment. It will be good to be able to have a bit more variety.

We are likely to have less adventurous eating <sigh>. DS has some food issues related to autism and there are quite a few things he won't eat (potatoes, eggs, ham, bacon, baked beans, white fish, sausages, roast dinner etc, all the traditional British stuff). But he loves Indian, Chinese, Thai, Middle Eastern etc. As do I. So we cook the adventurous stuff a few times a week and DD who is more conventionally fussy and doesn't really like spicy type foods will have pasta instead. Without him around we are likely to go back to plainer boring food more often to suit DD.

When he was younger he drove me to distraction with his restricted eating as everyone expected children to eat all the traditional stuff not curries and the like. Someone said he would grow into his taste and they were right, he has. He is great at trying new things (as long as they don't involve potatoes), enjoys food shopping and is really interested in ingredients etc. I will miss all this. DD is a better cook than him but far less adventurous.