Big Ears

Have any of you experienced any problems with your kids being badly treated\bullied by other kids in Aussie schools etc ?

tennisoz

I'm a schoolteacher who has taught in Oz and Scotland. Unfortunately you will get bullying in ALL schools - can't say whether it is more or less frequent in Oz. Incidentally Enid Blyton (Noddy and Big Ears) has a lot of bullying in it and is banned by a lot of education authorities!

TennisOz

Big Ears

I meant more related to the fact that they were Pommies etc

Simone

Well, I'm not a pom, but was foreign when in Oz.
I've never heard of poms being more bullied, and I don't think it is the case either. This is only based on personal experience by the way... I wasn't bullied, my brother wasn't, our dutch friends weren't and an english girl I was friends with in grade 3 wasn't. For the rest I can't remember any more british people I was at school with in those 9 years! (and I was in Perth for 4 years :P )

WBB

from what my g/f tells me it is the usual kind of stuff that goes on over there as it does if somebody from another country comes to school here, at first it is a novelty and they become a bit of a celebrity once that wears off it is back to normal.

dont worry about bullying as im sure it happens just as much over here and i suspect it has more to do with a kids appearance/personality than where thay were born.

speedy

Hi we have been near brissy for a year with 2 teenage boys youngest settled well ,but oldest one well he's not struck on aussies ! not keen on the kids reckons they pisstake out of him all the time ........... its a hard one but i suppose kids moving so far away will always get a bit of hassle with accents etc ......... are you moving out ? do you have kids ?
interested to know .......speedy

PeteY

From what i have seen "pommies" get picked on more as adults, but in a friendly manner...

speedy

Aussies love to take the mickey out of adults too ,yeah but as long as you give it back and dont get too upset i get on with em great ! me and hubby have settled and fit in very well ......

Big Ears

We have two kids, a boy of 4 and a daughter of 6 months. More concerned with our eldest as he will be of school age if\when we make it to Oz.

Have had mixed feedback from people we know who have lived in or visited Oz, I have heard the celebrity comments before but I have also heard stories of bullying.

I guess this is a feature of school life in the Uk as well and you just have to hope your child is not the one they choose to pick on.

MeganEkno

As an Australian who went to school with someone from Wales, I can tell you that he did not get teased. There is more a fascination with the accent and rather than being teased I suspect people will be lining up to get to know the kid from England. The teacher will probably settle him in by introducing him to the class and maybe asking some questions about England which will have the Aussie kids captivated.

Hope this helps you not to worry so much!

SteveBannister

That's good to know. After all, adults can pick and choose their freinds to a certain extent, but kids have to put up with the same kids at school every day.

hevs

I visited Oz loads as a kid and felt like the public freak show cos my cousins used to get there mates round to "check out their pommy cousin" It was the closest thing to celebrity status i have experienced, especially when asked for the umpteenth time,"have ya met the queen"?
So i'm going prepared with our, 2 days in London before the flights to get all those touristy pics!!

jopaulss

Our two have settled in well , and the only promblem we have had really is in the street next to ours from kids there , but the best of it is , they are poms like us. They have been vile to my two , mind you they can both hold their own , but its still a pain in the arse. But at school its not been to bad they tell me.
Joanne

SteveBannister

Makes you cringe, doesn't it? It just takes one or two to give us all a bad name.

MeganEkno

If people are thick enough to base their whole opinion of the lovely Poms on one or two bad eggs then it's probably not worth worrying about what they think anyway. There are good and bad people in every race.