Thread 41 Corona Cohort - Autumn Adventures of our Adult Children

[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 !

previous thread

Also laughing at the missing toe.

DD is asking if she can bring two of her new friends home for reading week. I’m glad she’s making friends, but not entirely sure I want to be feeding 3 teenagers for a week.

DS apparently had 8 hours of contact time TODAY! I am genuinely wondering if he is doing three separate degrees by accident...

Yikes @OublietteBravo

Well I can report back that DD (college) got away with lateness and a missing textbook and sorted the job out, so I was stressing for nothing today. When does it ever stop.

@OublietteBravo wow, that is a compliment! Even if not something you’d relish.

I'm loving the missing toe text!!
Thanks for guidance over money. Seems that £10/day would be ok. I also remember drawing £5 out of the cash machine as a student and it would last ages!

Dd has just sent me a whole load of voice messages telling me the names of all the friends she’s made! She’s feeling very settled so that’s good.

How are our people who were struggling doing?

@CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee does she still love the course, is the BF reconciled?

@Benjispruce4 how is your DD doing? Are you looking at 2023 entry? Thinking about re-sits?

My weekly budget (including rent) was £30 back in the 80s!
We were hoping to get all kids back the same weekend to celebrate dh’s birthday but S2 is planning to not come back until reading week in November. I guess that means he is happy where he is.

😂😂😂

@OublietteBravo blimey that’s a big ask. Good luck!

For those with offspring getting jobs, especially of the Festive variety (@singingstones @JustHereWithMyPopcorn I think, sorry if I've misremembered) - does this mean they have to commit to being at uni over the Christmas break, or anyway past end of term on the 16th?

Yeah, can any of the Christmas job-ers give me a steer? Ds has never had a proper job and we’ve been clear he needs to get something sorted over Christmas but he’s not sure when or how to get started. There are a couple of big supermarkets near us, and I’d suggested just getting his cv in soon as a possible seasonal staff role. Any other advice on timings??

Dd has applied to our local Tesco at home as she’s in 31 week accommodation. Last year she worked for Sainsburys and she did around two and a half weeks work and got about £400 I think.

@Isthisjustnormal
DS has applied for a Christmas job at Tesco, closing date is 17 October here. You can find vacancies on their website and you upload a CV and do an online application form. I'm not sure when they actually need people but hoping the dates will match up with his holidays.

Blink he's applied for the store near us but if he gets it (unlikely I think as I bet they are inundated) I'm hoping that might give him the possibility of picking up some hours at a store near uni during term time.

I am also going to suggest that DS applies for a Christmas job with Royal Mail, that's quite well paid if you have a big sorting office nearby.

Thanks @singingstones @crazycrofter : will get Ds on the case! We do have a sorting office just down the road @singingstones - had wondered whether Christmas staff was still a thing there!

I would not like 2 people in the house I had never meet as I just couldn't relax - I guess that does depend on the size of your house though. Also how do you get quality time with your DD? But if you say no will she go to 1 of their houses?

Love the missing toe.

At a tangent just read a good book "The Night Tiger" which happens to feature a missing finger.

Crickey @Piggywaspushed that is a long day. DD just had two days of 7 hrs and is exhausted but thankfully just 4hrs this morning and just a tuturial for 1 hr tomorrow at 10.00am. How many hrs is he doing each week?

@blinkbonny no idea! The festive period covers October - Feb where he is but obviously Christmas is a biggie. I expect he will have to work some of it but also they do know he is a first year student who's 'home' address is 120 miles away as they have his CV. He also seems to think he might be able to swap between our local shop and that one??? I think he'll play it by ear and if they want him to work all through Christmas he'll probably leave.

There have been some admin issues with his timetable so I am not sure. He said 12 last week but that seems unlikely with 8 yesterday! He has stuff every day except Weds , I believe...

Thanks @JustHereWithMyPopcorn , that makes sense. My oldest DD had a Christmas job when at uni and had to work right up to Christmas Eve, so quite a scramble to get her home. Still that meant they did keep her on after Christmas and it was a useful part-time income throughout her time there. DS went off to uni with big ideas about getting a job straight away but I have not heard mention since...

When dd worked last Christmas, she had to work till 6.30 ish I think on Christmas Eve. I think she did two weeks before Christmas and then a few shifts between Christmas and New Year. She was mainly doing 3pm-11pm shifts, which meant she still had the morning and lunchtime for socialising! It worked well for her.

@blinkbonny I thought he might be asked to work up to Christmas Eve and if necessary he can do that and we'll go and collect him that night - I am a little worried about the forecasts already for a white Christmas but they say that every year, don't they?? 😬 This is why I was asking ( a few threads ago) if they were allowed to stay in their halls during the holidays.