Hi

My daughter has been at her new school for 2 weeks and loves it. She has settled really well and enjoys almost everything.

There are a few younger kids Y4 (she is in Y6) who keep thinking she is Irish and getting her to say words and then laugh at her (we are from Lancashire!). At first it seemed funny but now they are tricking her and singling her out at lunchtime.

She has coped so well with everything and is trying not to let it get to her but did get a bit upset after school tonight. I just wondered has anyone else experienced this and if so how did you deal with it?

It's funny really because I didn't think our accent was that strong but it appears to be quite obvious! One of her sports teachers said, "Ooh I love your accent come and sit next to me so I can talk to you." This has been our experience on the whole - people being really positive about it.

Thanks for any advice.

That post hit a nerve with me. Brought back bad memories of moving from Manchester to Kent when I was 11, and I went through exactly the same. I can still remember some of the words they made me keep saying, from many years ago !!

I can't really help, but do get her to try to laugh with it, so she forgets it sooner than I did. Maybe get her to try to teach the other kids the accent ?

Good luck

Thanks ABCD for the reply. It's good to know someone out there who understands!!

I didn't realise how upset I would feel but when you put yourself in the child's position it makes you realise it could be quite a big deal really.

She's coped with all the 'big' stuff and this is annoying really cos it's a minor thing which could become major if not dealt with properly.

Thanks for the advice - will try to keep her smiling!

Tell them that you'll break their kneecaps if they carry on...

No, seriously, the novelty will soon wear off. It's because she is new too!

We live in Heywood which is only down the road from Manchester, but hubby has the p*ss taken out of him all the time by the mancs that he works with. I phoned him the other week to ask him if he wanted "owt off road", they thought I was litter collecting

On a serious note though, I`d never even thought about accents for the kids at school. Hope the micky taking soon stops.

Take care

Sharon

My manc husband wants to know do you eat road kill in Heywood
Seriously though what does 'owt off road' mean . Being Irish i'm used to having the p*ss taken out of me and I say b******s to them the novelty soon wears off.

It means "do you want anything from the shops". Strange bloody lot us Heywoodites

I lived in Aus til I was 10. When I came to England I had the same thing along with the following stupid question, Do I know Kylie lol.

It did my head in a little bit, but I soon picked up an English accent and the kids got bored.

She'll be reet. x

My friend moved to Canada about 18 months ago. His six year old now has a full Canadian accent. Apparently he developed it very quickly to deflect the teasing about his British accent.

Cheers

Buzzy

Our accent [Morecambe] is what makes my kids so popular, they love it here. She will be ok, believe me. Denise

I'm a Lancashire Lass, from Oldham (it kinda moved to Manchester in the late 70's!) everybody loved the kids accents when we moved to Melbourne but they sound like Ozzies now.
One of the my good friend's from school is from Wigan, people think we are mad when we say Oh you must eat pies then!!
infact out of the families from school I would say it is impossible to spend a day without seeing a family from the UK!

Where I work they find it hilarious when I say things like cupboard and things and they take the p out of me but in a nice way!

I hope the kids aren't finding it too hard. It could be worse, our pool guy moved here from Hampton when he was about 6 and he had such a "plummy" accent he said he lost it in a week because everybody picked on him!

Be proud of your roots (but DON't say root here!)

Louise

Seems to me you need to ensure your daughter has enough self asteem to override the bullying.

"Lancs accent? yea! better than an aussie mongrel accent!"

Elise seems to be ok but this could be as she is not the only Pom in her class. I seem to have all the lads at work copy certain things that i say while attempting to do my brummie accent. One lad did say he can understand me more now and was not sure if my accent had got weaker or that he is just used to it now.

Hows this for a bizarre one...

I asked an aussie girl in work today 'if I could borrow your lighter' (cigarette break thing)

She said 'sure, but I'm really busy, can we do it in 3 hours'


I'm still trying to figure out what she thinks I said

Happens all the time. Tell 'em to laugh at it. I do....

Thanks sooooo much everyone. You have all helped me put things back into perspective a bit. I really needed that.

It's happened to us all hasn't it? It's good to know she's not the only one going through the settling in period. I had a feeling she might drop her accent a bit to fit in but I can tell it's against her nature. Having said that, let's see what she sounds like in 6 months!!

What a laugh when things get mixed up! It is usually funny and I don't mind it at all, have got to stop saying I am off for a root around the shops though!!

Another thing, when I say to my new Aussie friend "no you get off I know you're busy", or "I'll be getting off now" is this a dodgy thing to say here? She seems to go a bit quiet when I say it.

Paranoid me?