Parents - Aid Packages

Before your son and daughter goes off to College, make sure that they have enough essentials to keep them going in those first few weeks when then leave the nest and learn to fend for themselves. The first few weeks of a student's life is taken up by trying to meet as many other students as possible so as to make their social life as full as possible. Expect them to spend most of their time down the pub, but don't begrudge them that - after all, you don't want your child to end up away from home and lonely do you?

The integral elements of any Aid Package, or Survival Kit are:

• Quick and Easy foodstuffs, like noodles, tins, pastas, fruit, chocolate bars, crisps, and microwave or kettle meals (so that they can eat quickly and simply between lectures or nights out).
• Alka-Selzers, Antacids and Headache Pills - for the morning after.
• Throat Sweets, Cough Syrup - for the inevitable 'Fresher's Flu'
• Condoms
• Cigarettes (if they smoke), will help them break the ice with new friends - Tea and Coffee

• Pots, pans, wooden spoons, cutlery and crockery for two, glasses, mugs
• Duvet, sheets, pillows (if they're in halls of residence check to see if these are provided)
• Pens, pads of paper, files, general work stationery
• Warm clothes, jeans, hardy shoes
• Desk lamp, batteries, a torch, photos of home!