Son has decided he wants to join up

Sparky29

miamoo wrote: »

any other tips??

My biggest tip for a mother is be strong as he will need some support and sometimes a bit of tough love from the parents.

1. As has been said by lcfc4824 - don't let him come home because he will regret it.
2. He WILL get homesick at some stage - don't let him come home because he will regret it.
3. He WILL have bad days (everybody has good and bad days in life but the difference is he will be 200? miles away feeling lonely) - don't let him come home because he will regret it.
4. It is easier for Junior Entrants to join the Army than Adults so if he leaves and changes his mind he probably won't get back in for some considerable time (and his recommendation on discharge will probably specify a min time of 12 months before re-applying to mature) and then he will be competing with the big boys for limited places.
5. No 16 year olds earn £250 a week plus get paid to play sport etc. so point out his alternatives and what his mates are actually achieving if he has a wobble. He is on decent money whilst others his age are on their way to £30k plus of student debt with no job at the end.

These probably aren't the tips you were after but I work in Recruiting and I see young lads every week who admit they made the biggest mistake of their lives by choosing to leave because they think they are missing something back home. Once they get back they realise the grass isn't greener and they are stuck in the mundane life they left behind. Another thing to realise is what they do in basic training isn't what they will be doing for the rest of their career and things are different once they get to a unit. I tell the lads that they won't have a good day in the Army every day but I guarantee they will have a laugh every single day and make great friends for life.

As I said don't make it easy for him to come home

wderham

Ive been in the army for 6 years this month, and i love it.

I joined up sporadically and had no idea what i let myself in for. I joined because i got turned away from working as a mechanic for Suzuki, so i just walked into the careers office. Best move i ever made.

Best of luck to him and you,

Wayne

miamoo

Its less than a week now untill he leaves to start his training. He did his Oath last week, and we are just getting his last bits for his kit list.
I wish I new some other mums and dads who were in the same position as me, as I have so many questions:(

intranicity

You'll get by just fine Miamoo, soon you'll be feeling 10 foot tall watching him on his pass out parade.

It's a great life, and I miss it, I was injured in GW 1 and now unable to work, but having said that, if I had my time again, i'd have done exactly the same thing. My son is getting to the age where it's time to think about career options and I think that the Military would do him the world of good. I'll be proud of him whatever he chooses to do, be it civilian or military, but the people that choose the military path and find they can take the life, rarely regret it.

Good luck to him and you and I'm pleased that that there are still men and women like him that are willing to step up to the mark and serve

Raksha

I've just tripped over this thread by accident - but i'm in the same position Miamoo was a few months ago.

#2 son will be 16 end of April. He's not particularly academic (might scrape by with c's in English and Maths) and certainly doesn't want to stay on at school. He's good at team sports and enjoys working as a team, is great at motivating his younger brother and is quite mature for his age.

Apart from not making it easy for him to come home, where do we go from here?

miamoo

Hi Raksha, I know exactly how you feel! x
The first thing I would do if pop into a careers office and get as much info on all the different trades and options available in the army and have a look through them together.

How does your son feel? My son's interest in the army grew the more he found out about it, he kept his options open though and also applied to a college incase he didnt get in.

My son started his first day of training at Winchester yesterday, we dropped him off and had a tour of the camp, we wont see him now for 6 weeks, I cant wait!

If I can help in anyway, post here or send me a Private message x

miamoo

My son is in the army, how amazing is that!

intranicity

miamoo wrote: »

My son is in the army, how amazing is that!

Personally, I don't think that it is very amazing!

He has a great mum, who's supported him, and he's done and shown the Army that he will be a good soldier, so, it's not amazing at all, just show's that the system works.

I hope you feel rightly proud of him, as I'm sure you are and I hope he has a very enjoyable time and a great career

CONGRATULATIONS to you all :beer: x

miamoo

intranicity wrote: »

Personally, I don't think that it is very amazing!

He has a great mum, who's supported him, and he's done and shown the Army that he will be a good soldier, so, it's not amazing at all, just show's that the system works.

I hope you feel rightly proud of him, as I'm sure you are and I hope he has a very enjoyable time and a great career

CONGRATULATIONS to you all :beer: x

I hate you intranicity!! I have kept the tears away up till now, what a lovely thing to say, you have really made my day, thank you x
(I'm crying cos I'm happy:D)

intranicity

miamoo wrote: »

I hate you intranicity!! I have kept the tears away up till now, what a lovely thing to say, you have really made my day, thank you x
(I'm crying cos I'm happy:D)

Can't wait to hear what a blubering wreck you'll be at his pass out parade

Good luck to you all, glad you're proud of him, and I bet he's just as proud of you (He'll still expect all his washing done when he's home on leave though, but at least hopefully he'll do his own ironing ) x