GCSE Summer 2020 - Thread 11 Carry on Corona Cohort - Starting New Terms and Settings

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 11th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort - The Corona Cohort!

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs regardless of the institute they attend or the grades they needed. It is respectfully requested that we are all supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate e.g state vs private - please don't within this thread.

Similarly it should be recognised that the grades our children need/deserve/want will vary across the board. One same grade outcome can simultaneously cause Joy and Despair for different posters. Please be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since I started first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. It is hoped this will continue. Going forward any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find. Not fussy about who starts those !

From now on our DS/DD may go down various paths such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed, so we decided not to be exclusionary and stay right here in Secondary - at least until Mumsnet HQ chuck us out .

At this precise moment in time we have had GCSE results . It has been decided that the higher of Centre Assesd Grades and Calculated Grades will be awarded - the algorithim seems to have been applied a schol level to the detriment of some students. Lots of our young people have already started on the next stage of their journey with some still to start.

We are all STILL trying to protect our young people's mental health, which the government claimed was their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September...now we have their physical health to consider too as the mingling at various settings starts up again. Hopefully a positive experience this term!

First Thread

previous thread

Yes, ‘roast day’ is very popular in our household too, it we can’t have that everyday . Pancakes and sausages and scrambled eggs, gets a whoop! every time.
Strange they seem to have similar pet hates e,g mashed potatoes is a no go area here even though I love it with bangers. Fried rice is Very popular.
Ds1 hates sphagetti whilst DS2 loves it. Both of them can’t stand jacket potatoes. One expects all this nonsense when they’re kids not at 19 and 16yrs.

One of mine loathes onion. So I use a leek instead and call his bluff!

One of mine won't touch potato in any shape or form, not even chips or crisps (will only eat wotsits or similar). DH doesn't like pasta . I agree about the "2 out of 3 ain't bad" thing

I do love this thread!

In real life all the other teens I know are very much of the “oh they’ll eat anything, I mean they’re not that keen on pesto but they don’t mind it really so anything is fine” variety. So nice to hear that other teen parents have similar frustrations and food challenges to me!

Yes...what is it with potato? Ds2 and ds3 won't eat potato, mashed or chips. The youngest says baked beans are made from potato too. Not keen on crisps either. They will eat roast potato now if they are very small and crispy. But they only stretch to 2 each.

Dh doesn't like pasta, onion or garlic. But he'll tolerate it as long as I don't put much in.

May I join the League of Frustrated Chefs?

One of mine won't eat anything which has ingredients mixed up eg lasagne, shepherd's pie, chilli, and not keen on sauces either. Loves fish, the other one hates it. One will eat mash, the other not. One likes baked beans, the other not. One loves curry, the other only if it's not too spicy. (Black pepper counts as too spicy.)
They will both eat broccoli, but one leaves the stalks. One eats peas but not sweetcorn, the other is the opposite. They both love chicken dippers and other beige food from the freezer, but we have got builders in and are without an oven for three months so they seem to be existing mainly on Asda sausage rolls at the moment
(NB not tesco sausage rolls - too crumbly)

Does anyone else have this conversation?

Me: I'm about to do the supermarket shop, what do you want to eat this week?
DC: anything / whatever / don't mind
Me: anything in particular you want me to get, any snacks etc?
DC: stares blankly

24hrs later -
There's no food / oh I really wanted xyz this week / have we got any [insert random foodstuff that we have never had before] / I'm starving etc etc etc

Ds has sensory food issues. He can taste minute differences between different brands. Texture is a big issue, he won’t eat meat except southern fried chicken grills, birds eye chicken dippers or KFC popcorn chicken. He used to ear Quorn sausages until they changed the recipie.

@singingstones - YES!!!

Yesterday:
Me - what do you want for dinner?
DS - something nice
Me - what?
DS - I don't know

He goes to rugby and I make a rather good beef casserole with tagliatelle and loads of beef (he loves meat)

DS - You said you would do something nice!

And we have the same thing with fish, mashed potato, baked beans (and sausages), curry.

I don't post this very often because of all the judginess on MN, but the first time DS agreed to come to McDs and actually eat something I was over the moon (it was only about 3 years ago). It has made life when out and about SO much easier.

I bet we all did all the right things when we were weaning them too! Little sods.

DS2 is pretty good. DS1 eats crap and eats around veg. I'm a person who eats air on toast and party rings as an evening meal so I can't judge really....

I weaned dd & Ds exactly the same And she eats almost everything.

Ds’s fussiness is related to his autism.

@Monkey2001 glad it's not just me!
And yes to "what do you want? "something nice", that's very familiar! And then their slightly disappointed sigh..

I honestly think this will help to get me through the trauma of them leaving home (particularly DS who is the pickiest and most likely leaving first) - the thought that DH and I can eat whatever we like! Two years to go and we can eat shepherd's pie every day. DD is easier by far and the three of us have lots of dishes that we all like.

@EasilyDeleted no judging here - whatever gets you through. DH and I have a quiet fist bump whenever DS likes something new. I've been suggesting Nando's to him for about two years because I knew he'd love it, he kept refusing because he knew he wouldn't - then went one day with his friends and loved it

I expect that when he does leave home he'll just go for it, especially if he's in a group. He won't want to be the awkward one then. He doesn't seem to mind that so much with us

I'm a person who eats air on toast and party rings as an evening meal

All the important food groups covered there imo Piggy
I could murder a party ring or twelve right now actually

DS's is related to autism too, in fact that was one of the early signs. He ate everything and anything when he was weaned and at 18 months it all just stopped, almost overnight. At nursery the only two meals he would eat were curry and sweet and sour chicken. People told me he would grow into his tastes and its true, now he's a teen no one expects him to eat fish fingers, chicken nuggets, chips and its ok that he prefers curries, stir fries etc. Eating out in pubs can still be tricky though, there's often nothing he'll eat on the menu, same with traditional cafes, he really does only eat "foreign" food. We are grateful for the current popularity of halloumi as he'll happily eat that.

I can’t remember ever feeling so relieved as when reading this frustrated chef mini thread. Yes to no ideas for the shopping list, yes to autists who won’t have different foods touching, yes to being fed up with being restricted to the middle of the Venn diagram of different family members fussiness.

And I am so fed up that the person who never gets to choose her favourites is the person doing all the cooking.

So lovely to know that one isn’t alone!

Well, I think we have an early front runner for a new thread title when the time comes don't we? How about "Carry On Corona Consort : Enjoying Y12 but less of the food fads please"

Another DC whose food fads are massively linked to autism here. Definitely a lot of kindred spirits on this thread!

@Comefromaway

Ds has sensory food issues. He can taste minute differences between different brands. Texture is a big issue, he won’t eat meat except southern fried chicken grills, birds eye chicken dippers or KFC popcorn chicken. He used to ear Quorn sausages until they changed the recipie.

Yes to the tasting minute differences between brands!

DS has super acute taste buds, I'm torn between awe and irritation that he has such pinpoint accuracy. Loves Tescos cooked mini chicken fillets and mini sausage rolls but has to be Tescos, he will identify an imposter sausage roll within about three seconds. "Err, mum...these aren't the right sausage rolls are they?"

And on we go!

@FlyingPandas

Well, I think we have an early front runner for a new thread title when the time comes don't we? How about "Carry On Corona Consort : Enjoying Y12 but less of the food fads please"

Another DC whose food fads are massively linked to autism here. Definitely a lot of kindred spirits on this thread!

Gah. Cohort. Not Consort.

Too much wine tonight.

@EasilyDeleted that's interesting. Ds3 ate everything until around age 2 or so. Then just overnight refused to eat most things. Ds1 was terrible as a baby and toddler. He looked so ill because he wouldn't eat. Now he eats almost anything. So my worst dc at eating was the best as a toddler.

My other DC does not have autism but has a more "normal" type of fussiness, doesn't like strongly spicy foods and prefers plain food.

So we have one that won't touch roast dinners, sausages, fish fingers, stews and casseroles but loves most foreign cuisines. One that only really likes the traditional British stuff. Our crossover areas are Italian (pizza, pasta, meatballs etc), some "beige" foods - both will eat breaded chicken or burgers, Mexican so long as it's mild and that's about it.

DD 17 today! Main present will be some driving lessons and a new hockey stick, but I have bought her several 'small lovely things' to open. I've just spotted DS wrapping a copy of Sylvia Plath's poems for her - very deja vu as I remember my beloved DF giving that to me for my 17th!

Happy birthday minikings! 🎈🎈

Kingscote have a lovely day with the birthday girl. 17 sounds significantly more mature than 16. DS is an end of Aug so a year away from driving.

@KingscoteStaff happy birthday to your dd. It must be good being one of the first to learn to drive. Ds1 is May. Several of his friends were driving to school way before he was 17. But ds2 is November born. So he's keen to get going on his driving. As long as lessons don't come to a halt again due to Covid.