Claire Bear

Hi all,

Had a bit of a situation tonight with my 8 year old daughter, so thought id see if any one else had the same, and what u think is best? Basically the stage were at is currently arranging meds etc, no visa s as yet. And tonight my daughter was crying telling me she really does not want to go to oz, as she will miss her friends etc. We had a lil chat and plenty hugs and ive explained that we all feel a lil bit scared and its normal to feel excited some times then worried other times. But it did worry me, i know she has had a bad day anyway as her and friend fell out at school and she was really upset, so dont know if that has maybe had something to do with it. But then i am scared that she will hate us for just taking her if she still feels this way further down the line. I know we have a good few months/possibly a year max b4 we would go to oz, but this has just got to me. What do u think?

Cheers claire x

NikiL

I think its probably normal from what other people have posted about their own feeling before they go!

My stepson (10) has gone through being worried about never seeing his friends again, worried about whether he'll see his mum again etc and now he's absolutely 100% gungho about going. He watched some programmes on Aus with us, we went online to show him stuff, talked about schools etc. Its taken him about 3 months to really come round - he was always pretty keen but went through wavering patches. Like I said, I reckon its normal - we're expecting to have wobbles when we're actually got it as well, of the "oh my god what are we doing" type

At least she's thinking it through, and it probably does have a strong link to falling out with her mate. She'll make new friends, and the internet really is superb for staying in touch with her old friends.

You'll all get there xx

Claire Bear

Aaah thanks. I agree with u that we all get the wobbles, as i know ive had a few! I thought it may help also for her to speak to some one whos been there. A girl from her class moved to oz last year so i may be able to get hold of an email add for them to chat. I imagine that if her friend is happy this may give her a lil bit more reassurance, and along with plenty hugs etc from us hopefully all will be well!

biggy

Totally normal for her to be like this, and probs was brought on by her fall out with her friend. When kids that age fall out with their mates its the end of the world to them. My kids were the same....excited most of the time but had their tears as well. However when it got closer to the move, it was mostly excitement, once they were here they just loved it, have made many friends and wouldnt go back to the UK if you paid them to.

Brisben

My children said exactly the same and nearly one year on they are having the time of their lives and love it here. I know they one day will appreciate the effort that went into getting here.

I also have noticed how much fitter and healthier they are and most importantly how happy they are.


Sometimes you have to do what is best for your children as they do not know what is best for them.

Go with your plan is my advice and if nothing esle it will be a wonderful experience for all of you...

Vanessa

With my OH's boy, who was 17 at the time, we told him that we were going and that he was coming. We didn't really enter into much discussions with him but told him that if he hated it, and once he had reached 18, he could go back but up until then he had to do what we were doing!

The reality is that when they are children they have to do what the parents say. Harsh I know but someone has to take charge and I know for sure that is not going to be the children!

PS they won't hate you, you just won't be the most popular for a while but hey you are the parent and that is the way it is supposed to be at times.

quoll

Absolutely agree with Vanessa - she's the kid and you are the adult. You make the decisions and she has to live with them. If she is anything like most kids that grow up in Aus she will want to be off either the year after school or after uni to have her "gap" year in UK/Europe. As a dual citizen she may decide then that she doesnt want to come back here like many of the kids who head off. The less of a deal you make it the better I think. Dont tell her she will absolutely love it, she may not, she may hate every moment but that is too bad, she basically just has to live with it. Chances are she will be just fine, kids are resilient creatures!

Demented Ferret

What a great age to bring kids over. My son was 10 when we came over and was upset about missing friends, but once we over soon made new friends and struggles to find time to call his UK mates. Now at 13 i think he would be devastated about leaving mates. Under 11s i think are perfect for the move.

Dale

Claire Bear

Thanks everyone for taking the time to tell me ur experiences/thoughts on this. U guys have all told me exactly what i wanted to hear! lol, i love it when that happens. And its great to know that your kids are so settled and happy, it gives me hope

Claire x