Local authority obligations to provide supported housing

NAS24560 said:

if he is no longer living with us

Have you had a sit down discussion about what life will look like when he leaves home?

If he is like 99% of other teenage boys, he will only see the freedom and independance and not the costs / cooking / cleaning / washing / maintenance / loneliness elements that come on such a journey.

If he is set on the move no matter what, then maybe try to write out for him a list of all the things that you need to do to live on your own and the things he needs to learn to do them.

Stuff like:

You will get £xx per week from benefits / job and this needs to go to cover the following (food, transport, entertainment, tech (phone, laptop replacements, contracts), clothes, medical (dentist, plasters, glasses etc) insurance, utility bills, socialising, savings etc).

Explain the importance of having some savings for when you need something in an emergency (laptop/phone gets tea spilled on it for example)

I recall my brother being given this talk and he quickly changed his mind about moving out when he realised he would probably be in debt from day 1 and only get worse from there. He also became much more aware of how much the family were providing for him and made him appreciate it more.

Probably also arrange to show him how to use things like the washing machine and dish washer, explain how often to change bedclothes & towels, how not to much whites and colours when washing clothes, what to use to clean the different parts of the house with etc.

Ideally on day 1 I would leave a box of things he would no think about - cleaning supplies, bedsheets/towels, salt / pepper / tea / cutlery etc and help get the utility bills in his name if he is going to be responsible for a flat.

Maybe also show how to clean effectively as it is all too easy to damage surfaces with the wrong product, or damage skin with bleach etc. Remember to explain the importance of ventilation.

These are some of the things I wished I had when I started out, but my parents were overseas working so I had to find my way on my own.

NAS24560 said:

if he is no longer living with us

Have you had a sit down discussion about what life will look like when he leaves home?

If he is like 99% of other teenage boys, he will only see the freedom and independance and not the costs / cooking / cleaning / washing / maintenance / loneliness elements that come on such a journey.

If he is set on the move no matter what, then maybe try to write out for him a list of all the things that you need to do to live on your own and the things he needs to learn to do them.

Stuff like:

You will get £xx per week from benefits / job and this needs to go to cover the following (food, transport, entertainment, tech (phone, laptop replacements, contracts), clothes, medical (dentist, plasters, glasses etc) insurance, utility bills, socialising, savings etc).

Explain the importance of having some savings for when you need something in an emergency (laptop/phone gets tea spilled on it for example)

I recall my brother being given this talk and he quickly changed his mind about moving out when he realised he would probably be in debt from day 1 and only get worse from there. He also became much more aware of how much the family were providing for him and made him appreciate it more.

Probably also arrange to show him how to use things like the washing machine and dish washer, explain how often to change bedclothes & towels, how not to much whites and colours when washing clothes, what to use to clean the different parts of the house with etc.

Ideally on day 1 I would leave a box of things he would no think about - cleaning supplies, bedsheets/towels, salt / pepper / tea / cutlery etc and help get the utility bills in his name if he is going to be responsible for a flat.

Maybe also show how to clean effectively as it is all too easy to damage surfaces with the wrong product, or damage skin with bleach etc. Remember to explain the importance of ventilation.

These are some of the things I wished I had when I started out, but my parents were overseas working so I had to find my way on my own.