<p>Now that Zoosergirl has accepted her seat, the logistics questions spring to mind. do you all send your kids to college with passport, birth certificate and stuff? If so, where do they keep them so that they will be safe?</p>
<p>They will lose the birth certificate, so keep it at your house. No matter where I live, the important papers still stay the parents house, as I am horrible at filing important papers. That is why I am a huge fan of Internet bill pay.</p>
<p>I think it is unlikely that a student would ever need a passport or birth certificate on a same-day basis. It might be more prudent for those documents to remain at home; if they are ever needed, the parent could send them by Express Mail to the student, and they would arrive the next day.</p>
<p>The one hard-to-replace document that my son has sometimes needed at college is his Social Security card – an essential for getting a job or paid summer internship. It is kept at home, but we have had to make arrangements to get it to him in a hurry on several occasions.</p>
<p>My son keeps his driver’s license in his wallet at college even though he never drives while there. I’m not sure whether this is a good idea or a bad one. </p>
<p>The only thing that has ever “disappeared” from my son’s possession at college is bicycles: he has had two of them stolen, in a total of three incidents (one bicycle was stolen twice and recovered once; the other was stolen once and never seen again). But that’s not the sort of valuable possession that you can easily hide!</p>
<p>Thank you all!</p>
<p>I sent my son’s’ passport with him across the country, where it would take some time for me to get it to him if he needed it for any reason. He’ll need it for any trip outside the country by air, and soon even if he takes a land-based trip to Canada or Mexico he’ll need it to return. And it is a solid proof of identity, should he need that. It’s his anyway, let him learn to take care of something important like that. (I did make a photocopy before he left and keep it in a filing cabinet at home, to ease the pain of any possible necessary replacement.)</p>
<p>The birth certificate is still in the filing cabinet with me, though. Someday I’ll give that to him also, and keep a copy for my files.</p>
<p>My D has her passport, she crosses the border not infrequently, and a copy of her birth cert. You can get them a lock box if you are concerned. D carries her passport in her purse!!</p>
<p>Having to show the actual Social Security card was a surprise to us, too! Just goes to show how long it’s been since I worked in personnel – or anywhere, for that matter :)</p>
<p>I got son a duplicate SS card so that he would have that for jobs, etc – while I still had one at home. If you think she would need a birth certificate (which I doubt she would need with little notice) you can order a certified copy through online services (friend of mine did this for all her kids). Son keeps his “emergency” credit card, SS card and Rx meds in a lock box.</p>
<p>S1 and D both have their passports and SS cards with them. Birth certificates are here, as they don’t really need them with the passport.</p>
<p>D travels on a regular basis (1-2 times a year), so it would be a pain to keep sending the passport back and forth. S1 goes to Canada on a regular basis by car and even though a passport isn’t required, it seems to get more “respect” from the customs officials than a birth certificate and a driver’s license.</p>
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<p>Isn’t it required now, though, even though it wasn’t before?</p>
<p>I ordered duplicate certified copies of birth certificates and SS cards so the kiddos could have a set at school and I keep a set here at home. Same with credit cards they have, they have 1 card and I have the other and with their banking cards. They have me move money from one account to another, from one sibling to another. If one is short on cash the one with the extra (for whatever reasons) just moves it from one to another. They all seem to keep track of who has what. And the 4 older ones are on at least one of the other sibs accounts in case of emergency.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Marian, a passport is not yet required for land crossings (will be in Jan. '08). It’s only by air that you are required to have a passport now (as of Jan. 23).</p>
<p>D2 has her passport and b/c with her at school. D3 does not, because she’s close enough that she can get it when needed.</p>
<p>Son is 3,000 miles away. He has driver license and social security. Must have DL or some form of ID to fly back and forth whether they are driving at school or not. I kept passport and birth certificate. But…we had one problem where he couldn’t find his wallet just a few days before he was to fly home. I was gearing up to fedex the passport. Suggested he call campus security and it turns out his wallet had been turned in. Sigh.</p>
<p>I wasn’t thinking of flying when I questioned whether a student without a car would need a driver’s license at school. My son doesn’t go to a faraway school where he would need to fly. But you’re right about that, of course, ebeeeee.</p>
<p>S has his important docs at school.Needed his SS card when he applied for the passport,at a passport “fair” they held on campus.Also had the birth certificate expressly for that purpose but returned it over Christmas break. He also has a checkbook. The top drawer of his desk locks and we made that the “important drawer”.Im trying to get him into the habit of putting anything of importance into that drawer (hes a freshman,and a boy,he needs training LOL).Older D also got into that habit freshman year.
Hopefully hes keeping small valuables also in that drawer…like IPOD,calculator,camera,etc…one can hope
So far, nothings disappeared but a bike.Wallet that he dropped into couch cushions in a dorm lounge was returned…intact…</p>
<p>A passport is safer to carry than a social security card and is an equally valid form of proof of citizenship for employment. A social security card is a great place to start for identity theft.</p>
<p>I keep our SS cards (and birth certificates) in the safe and the passports are with the kids.</p>
<p>We had our S take up his passport & driver’s license & checkbook. When he came home over winter break, I gave him his SS card as well. I guess I need to hunt around–I know I have a duplicate of his SS card somewhere, as well as a duplicate of his birth certificate (which he didn’t take because it isn’t very useful).
He has a safe built into his school dorm closet & one in his room mate’s closet, so I’ve urged him to keep these docs & his joint credit card he has we me locked in his safe. So far, so good (he tends to be pretty responsible other than the one time I washed the phone he had left in his pocket & dumped in the hamper).</p>
<p>Whoops, didn’t mean to double-post. I know that when I was in college, didn’t take nearly as many important docs as my S has. His college is in LA & I figure he & buddies may decide to go to Mexico/Tijuana sometime & I thought a passport would be handy. He also didn’t have a driver’s license until he got one over winter break, so I thought a passport is more recognized than a driver’s permit anyway. Not sure whether I’ll have him keep passport next year when he no longer will have safe in his room.</p>
<p>Didn’t mean to post this–will create a separate thread. Please delete, mods. Sorry!</p>
<p>:) Obviously my brain is sleeping! Sorry!</p>