Living in Australia - the effect on your DC

[LooWaterSunset]

Just wondering if anyone would be kind enough to share their experience of moving to Australia and what effect it had on your DC. I have one DS who is still only 1yo, so obviously any change is likely to be minimal for him. But I'm interested to hear about older DC and their activities/experiences in UK and Australia.

I know I shouldnt read these threads...but honestly Erebus what utter shit.

Such a generalisation!

Um- what have I said that's -ahem- 'utter shit'; I have told you of my findings of 16 years living in Australia, yes.

Sorry if they don't chime with yours but I'm really hoping that you aren't Australian as if you are, you've just demonstrated the po-faced nationalistic chippiness that can tend to characterise Australians.

LOL and what British qualities are you displaying Erebus? I can spot a few.

I hadn't realised that it was essential to be indoors at all times between 10am and 4pm. Makes me wonder about those of us who venture out with sunscreen and hats.

I'm not Australian and I've lived here 27 years. I also think your post is utter shit.

LittleMissTickles the thing is we spent lots of time outdoors in Scotland doing much the same as here, apart from the beach, but on Sunday my kids were too hot after 2 hours and we had to head indoors to cool down and it's only spring!
We love the beach but even with shade/ scratch vests factor 50 you can only spend so long there.

I really miss going for lovely long walks without sweating

OK, once again, a thread about Life In Gods Own Country... has resulted in name calling from one contingent.

Once again, discussion that point out some of the disadvantages that might not necessarily be apparent to someone who's never been to Australia, maybe someone who's only ever seen the 'It's bleddy bonzer here, mate!' style programmes on TV about Australia might not consider- gets crudely bulldozered by incensed locals as opposed to 'discussed'.

And once again, that chippiness shines through.

And reminds me why, though I had a good time in Australia for those many years, there's a lot I don't miss.

I rest my case, and bow out.

This is what I am referring to as utter shit:
"Australians are not what we'd call sportsmanlike, so many of the values we Brits like to bestow upon partaking in sport, (esp when given as a reason to want more of it in private schools!), values like being a gracious winner, a noble loser, team work, cohesion, leadership skills aren't really present in much of Australian sport"

No one is saying Australia is God's own country ffs, I'm merely pointing out that making absolutely sweeping generalisations of a nationality is just wrong. And the same goes for your bullshit about British teaching valuves about sportsmanship, team work et - you make it sound like a bloody utopia here. You ever ventured into London at peak hour. NOW that's what the British can really be like. Fucking awful at times.

But toff toff, off you pop or bow out. Or what ever it is that the British do that is just so much better than us mere Australians...

oh and ffs, this comment -

po-faced nationalistic chippiness that can tend to characterise Australians

makes you sound like like a po-faced right winged BNP supporter. Nice.

Maybe we go to different sports clubs.. But dd 11yrs. Tri club. She is one of the slowest.. Yet she gets cheered on through every training session and every race all the way to the finish! Swimming which she has just started training for her first 3 comps she is 7 seconds off the state times so finishes last in her age .. Again.. Without exception she is clapped at the finish and encouraged by all the team to keep going!
Ds has cerebral palsy and again is encouraged by everyone to do his best.. Swim a pb.. Everyone knows that only a couple of people will get medals and they are the lucky ones..
So I have a family of little Aussie battlers. They are fit n healthy n happy. Of course everyone will find life different. Everyone will move for different reasons.
My kids are out all day long.. Sunscreen n hats! Rashies in the pool. New trampoline arriving soon complete with its own roof! Simple. Adaptation is the key

I've not been here (Perth) as long as some of you but I have to say it's been a great move for our kids and has been nothing but positive so far. My boys are v sporty, but seen any of the behaviour Erebus is referring to - if anything it's the British parents at soccer club who are the worst. The limited involvement they've had in AFL has proved to be the opposite, it's all about developing skills and there is definitely not the win at all costs they experience in soccer back home, and that's what they're planning on taking up next season.

We've quite happily spent the last few weekends at the beach now it's spring time, were dragging them home at 6pm on Sunday, having arrived before lunch for a picnic, but they're water babies so spend most of their time body boarding. Starting surfing lessons this weekend too, so expect to be even more beach bums.

Schooling has suited my kids more, they're definitely better at fostering confidence, my eldest has gone from crying and feeling sick at the thought of sitting down playing drums at the christmas concert back home, to volunteering to get up and present in front of 600 people.

We've been in the Hunter Valley (NSW) for coming up 4 years - going for citizenship next week! - and we moved here with a 9, 11 and 13 year old. They're in public (state) school and aren't particularly outdoorsy kids but they love it.

Financially we can afford to live in a much bigger house than we could in England so they've got more room at home and educationally they're doing really well. DS (the eldest) is still failing school (as he was in England) but the subjects he's doing are much more his thing (he's just lazy and has switched off). There are a lot more choices other than traditional academic subjects and there are school based traineeships, apprenticeships (like the old YTA schemes) and day releases to college for senior students.

DD1 is about to start her final 2 years in school and will be doing a day release course in journalism next year as well as all her normal school choices. DD2 will be doing music (rock and metal) and circus skills next year (drama course) as well as the standard type subjects.

As I said above the boy is a bit of an educational disaster but his teachers are great and are trying really hard with him. We're pretty certain he's going to fail his exams but he's got lots of alternatives for next year so we're not too stressed. DD1 has gone from not being able to read and write to being in the top 5 in her school for English and is excelling at Japanese (something she wouldn't have been able to do if she'd still been in England). We came out here expecting her to struggle academically but knowing that there were lots of other opportunities for her if she didn't do well in her school exams but she's come on in leaps and bounds since we got here.

DD2 is a little odd, it true I'm not being mean, she's a particularly strange child but she found a group of friends equally odd and she fits in, in England she def stood out and wasn't happy.

For us it was def the right move to make, the kids are happy, they have loads of friends and they fit in. We very much subscribe to the 'work to live' philosophy rather than 'live to work' and it suits them down to the ground.

My 9 year old has had good and bad.
He has found it s abit tricky with making good friends. has had some problems with kids not understanding him and has gone backwards academically.
He looks healthier though.

Here are some gorgeous images of kids in remote/regional Australia.
growing up down under

My 12 year old has settled in beautifully and says he is never going back to Ireland. He will be away at school camp next week, they are kayaking, snorkelling, canoeing etc. he did all these things on a school trip in Ireland and almost froze to death, he reckons it will be a bit more fun in the Indian Ocean. The only subject he doesn't like at school is Indonesian, but then he didn't like Irish either and they wasted far more time on it.

I also strongly disagree that the Aussies are unsportsmanlike, my experience is quite the opposite!

We moved when my son was 15 months old. A return home for me but a new country for OH.
The change in DS was kind of amazing. He just seamed to come alive with being able to be outside so much. We now have a back yard he can play in as soon as the suns up.

We are careful with his clothing in summer so long cotton shirts and 3/4 length trousers and big brimmed hat and sunscreen. We also have an ankle to wrist sunsuit for swimming in at the outdoor pool. loads easier then trying to put suncream on.