Buzzy--Bee

A lot of people say they want to move to Oz because they want a better life for their children, various reasons given seem to include more of an outdoor lifestyle, less yob culture, more opportunities for sport etc

I would be very interested to know if having made the move to Oz, whether people felt they actually had achieved a better life for their kids than they had in the UK?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Buzzy

richard-elly

Hello. We have been here 4 months and I can honestly say that both our children 6 & 3 yrs have benefited from the move. Yes they have moments where they cry because they miss nanny and their friends but generally we can see a difference in them. For a start my son 6, usually very white and pastey looking, now has an all over body glow. Even though he has been slapped in sunscreen every day, being outdoors consistently has given him a real healthy glow. Their confidence has rocketed. The outdoor life and living makes you mix with others more and this has made them confident, social, and more aware of others needs. In England, their social life was all indoor activities where the noise level was high. In England because of the squashed up houses, we used to encourage them to play quietly outside as not to disturb the neighbours too much. Here they are on the beach every day, airing their lungs to their hearts content, body surfing, boogey boarding, members of the nippers life saving club. His school did a 2 week swimming on the beach program and also offer tennis, cricket, footy, general swimming. He does karate as well. In England his school offered football and that was it. During their break time at school they go out to play football or cricket in the schools cricket nets or just climb the enormous climbing frames that put english ones in the recreation grounds to shame.
Is it better here? Oh yes. Here they can breathe, have the space, are encouraged and have the facilities to grow into whatever their wildest dreams dare them to dream.

Elly

sasbear

Yes I feel that it has been an improvement for my kids.

Tom 18 managed to get onto an apprenticeship and was lucky but then he decided to go back to the UK and was very unsettled - couldn't get onto an apprenticeship too much competition.

Jade (15) is so much more confident now as a person - she has slotted straight into the lifestyle after the initial culture shock.

It isn't life changing - but it is person changing - it was definately the right thing to do - however there are a few minor points that are negative but not everything can be positive can it?

richard-elly

Forgot to add that my sons school also do a buddy system where the older childrenare deisnated a younger school member, their buddy for the year, and they help them out when needed, ie, doing up their buttons, zips, shoe laces etc. If the youmger kids need something they find their buddy to help them. The older kids learn about responsibilty and bullying is almost non existent.

moneypenny20

We've only been here a few months and haven't noticed much of a change in my girls yet but am hoping they pick up some Aussie child behaviour soon. From what I have seen, primary school starts off teaching them life skills and general behaviour skills. I am so impressed with the children I come in contact with. They are all confident but in a nice way not obnoxious. I only have one at primary and she is in year 6, she is quiet when out (not at home where she talks 19 to the dozen). She definitely needs some confidence boosting in that area.

chatty34

We have been here 5 months and we have noticed a big difference in both our children.
Our son is 11 and although sporty he has never stood out or excelled at a particular sport and that seemed to hold him back in the uk, if he didnt make the team then he was just overlooked, I have found that here it hasn't made a jot of difference and that although not the best he still gets his turn in the sport of the season ie Soccer, rugby, softball. He plays so much sport and swims twice a week at school. He drops into bed and is asleep after 10 mins which wasn't the case in England.
Our daughter has really come into her own, she is a bright girl but very shy which was made worse in England through being bullying. Her start here wasn't brilliant and she cried often for the first 2 months, we took her out of her school and placed her in another school half the size and we have never looked back thank god. She has made friends with a great bunch of girls and has taken up dancing, something which she didnt have the confidence to do in England and even auditioned for a part in school production last week and won a part!! I cant really put my finger on why they are so happy here but they are and neither of them wants to go back to England much to the despair of my homesick husband

movetoperth

My kids seem as though they have been here forever.

They went to a tiny village school in england where the main topic of education seemed to be God, sport was something that never seemed to include them and there was pressure galore on them to achieve, achieve, achieve.....

Here they have come on leaps and bounds, they have more confidence, are doing really well in academic subjects, love sport to bits, they play in various sorting teams, they are WCE daft and although the x-box and pc play a part in their lives they actually go our and ride thier bikes, play footy down the park, go body boarding etc..... Oh yeah they have aussie accents and actually look the part too.

Lynn

moneypenny20

Looks like stupid wins the day

richard-elly

lol don't make me laugh! Here goes again!

Pet

Hi Lynn, gorgeous kids, great photo. Look like Rottnest to me, one of our favourite holiday spots when the kids were young. So much freedom.

Pauline

phoenixinoz

My lad was 16 when we arrived and looking back he was initially very very depressed.

I think a culmination of being a quiet boy, missing his best friend in UK [who relied on my son as he had just lost his dad a year before] and the fact my eldest boy decided to stay in UK, all these things made my youngest feel very low.

Almost two years on however and things are so different. It seems like he is a different boy

My son is now in his last year of school, has friends who ring all the time....they go camping ...or go to the coast...or have BBQ's etc, etc...and he has a sun coloured complexion and healthy attitude to match the glow. I've seen such a difference I wouldn't have believed it if someone had told me.

My son now has so much more confidence and his Aussie mates are so polite and confident that it's a pleasure to speak to them. Of course they are normal 17 year olds, going to parties or driving in their cars. All I can say is that so far what I see is a bunch of happy-go-lucky lads who have a laugh and don't bother anyone and keep themselves occupied in a constructive way.

I wanted to share this as there are lots of parents of older kids who worry they will fit in. The culture IS different and it does take them some time to settle. From what I've seen overall [from our and others experience], it takes older boys longer than girls of the same age to settle too.

Has life improved for my lad? ......hell yes

richard-elly

third time lucky........

nick72

Great picture mate....

Is this Perth too ?

Nick

movetoperth

Well spotted Pauline, Geordie Bay 2 days after christmas, sheer bliss only blot on the day was my toddler threw up all the way over

Lynn

Hutch

Lynn - you just described my son's school to a 'T' here in the UK. Being born on Aug 29th he's the youngest in the school and two weeks after he started we were called in because the other children knew 10 words and Josh could only manage 6!!! It's the 7th highest ranked primary in the country, but the kind of children it produces aren't anything I'd be proud of. I can't wait to remove him from there and let him go to a school where they understand a bit better what childhood is all about.