Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

First tearful phone call tonight - and I thought it was going so well! I think it was easier when they did not have their phones. A good nights sleep needed for both of us me thinks. Hopefully all will be back to normal tomorrow.

Being Victorian parents, we did not allow our DD a phone till we caved in last leave w/e. She is in 3rd form now and we only gave in so that she can text us.....or rather, I can text her when I need to know something. I got fed up waiting for email replies. And she has forgotten how to write a letter! I think I have had 3 in a year and a bit. Hey ho.

It's back to normal tonight, I phoned my son at 20.30 because I had not heard from him and he said " sorry we were just practicising rugby lineouts in the dorm" !!!

To CHdad and all the other new parents
the above 3 posts really sum up how it is to be a CH parent - 3 weeks missing them, recieving minimal contact from them, a leave that goes in flash, a day or 2 of settling back (more difficult for the parents than the pupil) then the cycle starts again...
Trust me - the fewer contacts home they make, the busier and happier they are. I wait all week for my one rationed Sunday evening telephone conversation.

My son texts me in the morning to say good morning and at night to say goodnight. Mostly he also texts, "Have had a fab day". I also speak to him every day on the house phone......all the news of the day from here and there. We have done this since the first 3 week ban. It is driven by him rather than me and I did worry about it during the Second Form as I thought perhaps he should just be getting on with it. But it's just a lovely routine for him and me.

I think this is perhaps unusual......but then I think we are perhaps an unusual family!

Not so unusual. My eldest rings every day because she needs to and we enjoy it.

Hooray! Thanks for that. I thought I was going to get pilloried for it.
x

YadaYada wrote:Hooray! Thanks for that. I thought I was going to get pilloried for it.

That's a bit medieval !

We didn't even have to suffer that form of punishment at CH back in the 50's !!

Yes, well, the way some of the 'older' old Blues go on, with 'in my day, we didn't get a word from Mother for a month and are better for it' pilloried is exactly how I felt I might be.....albeit in a metaphorical way!

Yada Yada

We seem to be heading to a similar pattern as you. For the first few days I was tempted to call / text my son. However I am now leaving it up to him, mostly he texts and just like you I get a "good morning" text and also a "nighty night" one from him, I always send a brief txt reply. I normally get a phone call once a day as well, usually brief. I am happy now as I know he can call if he wants/needs to and he seems to be happy for the same reasons.

It seems to be working for us at the moment!

YadaYada wrote:Yes, well, the way some of the 'older' old Blues go on, with 'in my day, we didn't get a word from Mother for a month and are better for it ' pilloried is exactly how I felt I might be.....albeit in a metaphorical way!

YadaYada, I can't imagine any of us oldies - certainly not the Hertford brigade - wanting to "pillory" you for keeping in frequent contact with your son - quite the reverse! I thought we'd made it quite clear how awful it was to be kept incommunicado, both for us and for our parents. And a few of us were damaged by it, as we've tried to explain, despite being criticised for this in some quarters. Thankfully the great enlightenment happened and I for one am delighted by that.

now if only DD could find her mobile phone... and her watch...

anniexf wrote:

YadaYada wrote:Yes, well, the way some of the 'older' old Blues go on, with 'in my day, we didn't get a word from Mother for a month and are better for it ' pilloried is exactly how I felt I might be.....albeit in a metaphorical way!

YadaYada, I can't imagine any of us oldies - certainly not the Hertford brigade - wanting to "pillory" you for keeping in frequent contact with your son - quite the reverse! I thought we'd made it quite clear how awful it was to be kept incommunicado, both for us and for our parents. And a few of us were damaged by it, as we've tried to explain, despite being criticised for this in some quarters. Thankfully the great enlightenment happened and I for one am delighted by that.

Well said anniexf. I don't think any of us 'Hertford oldies' would say that we were better for being unable to contact our parents. It seems only we can truly understand how damaging that was.

How strange - I have been reading this topic for a couple of months now, and it has only just occurred to me that even if we had been allowed to phone home many of us could not have done so; my family certainly did not have a telephone and no doubt there would have been many others in the same position. I wonder how the school would have contacted our parents in an emergency?

It's weird really... my parents lived on site and on my Grecians, when I lived in Maine A, I could go for 2 weeks without seeing or hearing from them at all!