For older kids- when did they fill out official forms?

[JBaxter]

I still do it for my 17 yr old. Anything official I'd have to go over anyway. I would not be comfortable him filling out a passport application. School forms he fills out and I sign.

[niccig]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will have him start to fill things out, like at the doctor’s office. I’ll be there to sign and to fill in anything he doesn’t know. He doesn’t have anything official like the passport for awhile. I would check over anything he filled out.


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[carolinacool]

DS turned 11 last month and I took him to the pede for his yearly checkup. I checked in when we arrived in the parking lot and received a survey link with a message that the patient was to answer the survey privately. I ignored it and read the questions out loud for him to answer while we sat in the car. As we got deeper into the survey, it became clear it was about his mental health, feelings of sadness/depression and finally questions about self-harm. While they may have been appropriate for some fifth-graders, they were very confusing to him -- "Why would I want to hurt myself?" It may have been wrong, but I'm glad I didn't just hand the phone over to him.

But good idea to have him start filling out basic field trip forms and the like.

[essnce629]

DS1 started freshman year of high school, so 14 years old. He also just did all his college apps on his own and I never checked over a thing (just our part on FAFSA and the CSS Profile).

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[pharmjenn]

DS13 started last year at his 12yo check. I think I did the insurance part and handed him the clipboard to answer the "personal" questions. He did not understand some of them, and had to ask me what they meant, like questions about having feelings for the opposite sex, or feelings for same sex. He accepted my answers of "they want to know if you have ever wanted to kiss a girl, or kiss or hug a boy"
This year (last month) at his 13yo check, he did the form himself, including the diet questions and I think answered them honestly (doesn't drink milk or eat cheese, minimal fruits/veggies, lots of junk and too much screen time; I am a bad parent) He also wanted me to leave the room when the doctor said he had to examine his privates. I was only out for a couple minutes, so I don't think he was asking any other questions of the doctor.

I am happy he is learning how to do it, as his cousins went off to college with Mom having done everything for them.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We started with probably 7th grade - sports/field trips/dr/dentist office forms. Very handy right now with 2 covid exposure forms for every othodontist/dr/dentist appointment!

[o_mom]

We have very few forms to ever fill out, and they usually want an adult signature, so it hasn't come up much. I can think of maybe one form in the last year?

We will step it up next year with college applications for DS1.

[ett]

We have very few forms to ever fill out, and they usually want an adult signature, so it hasn't come up much. I can think of maybe one form in the last year?

Same here. Doctor/dentist forms all need adult signatures. School field trip forms are really just student name and parent signature. DS1 did fill out his learners permit application himself but I sat with him in case he had any questions. He filled out his college applications himself (are there parents that would do these for their kids??) but I did look over them before submitting and did catch a few mistakes.

[Philly Mom]

A passport form is very different to me than a doctors form. Passport is an official government submission. You really don’t want an error. Maybe I could see having a kid do the first crack, but I would want to double check. For the other forms mentioned here, it is child specific.


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[gymnbomb]

We are a long way from that, but I think of it in terms of preparing them for life as adults. When they graduate from high school they'll need to be able to do EVERYTHING on their own, whether they are in college or getting a job or joining the military or whatever. So I think at a minimum by senior year of high school (which could be age 16 or could be age 19 depending on the child) they should be able to do everything with you there to answer questions or to sign if needed or to double check the important things like passport applications. So then I'll work back from there. My 6 year old can walk up to a desk to hand in a piece of paper -- like a reading log at the library, or the clipboard of paperwork I've filled out at the eye doctor -- with me waiting 10-20 feet away. When he's 10 I'd expect him to be able to do something like find the bread at our usual grocery store and pay for it by himself with an adult there if he needed help. In terms of stuff like this, I think that this year of virtual learning first grade is really good for him because he's getting a lot of practice at finding assignments, keeping track of what time he needs to be in meetings, reading and following directions, etc. with me there to remind him and check for him as needed.