Opportunities for your kids in Oz that they never had back home

[twinsmom65]

I was just thinking about my daughter the other day, and the opportunities that she has here in Australia that she never had back home.

 

My daughter is in year 11 and doing the VET program, which means she goes to school 3 days a week and then work experience 2 days a week.

 

She has already done 4 months at a horse breeding farm, and now her new work placement is working with Birds of Prey.

 

I must say that I am a very proud mum, as she has taken to Birds of Prey like a duck to water. Yvonne, the lady that runs the Bird of Prey exhibit at Whiteman Park, even had Britt helping in the show, and that including getting the birds to fly to her with her leather gauntlet on. Apparently it usually takes months for someone to be able to do that, and Britt has been working for only 2 weeks.

 

From this experience, it looks like Britt can get into the Animal Studies program at TAFE, or perhaps even apply for Perth Zoo or WAPOL.

 

These are opportunities that she would never have had back in Canada. I am so proud of her for following her dream, and being given the opportunity to learn something she loves.

 

Well done Australia !!

 

Was just wondering if anybody elses children have had more opportunities here than back home ??

 

Cheers

 

Karen

[The Yuills]

Karen,

 

My son is also in Year 11 now and doing for the 2nd year photography, which he could not have done at his school in the UK. He really enjoys that. Now in year 11 he is able to study Politics and Law..to go on to Uni for a course in Law. He would not have had this opportunity in the UK to this course either at school level. No regrets from us!!!

 

Sue

[Guest chris955]

As with anywhere it very much depends where you live, I doubt kids here would have those opportunities outside of the big cities.

A friends daughter in the UK has been taken on at the Cotswold Wildlife Park but she couldn't have done the same thing in mid Wales for instance.

[calNgary]

Hiya my children are a little younger so not got to the work experience stage or part time school stage yet, but so far the big differences for them are that my son now has a big enough garden to ride his motorbike around at home.

We are lucky enough to own a house with a fab pool, so from the age of 3 my daughter has swam like a fish. The fact they can play outside as much as they can is a big differnce, building dens in the back, playing soccer with the local kids, building bmx tracks and jumps , all good harmless fun.

 

More than anything my kids enjoy the good old fashioned fun that had become non existent in the UK, for the last 2 years my son and hubby have built a wooden billy kart and attend the annual Billy Kart race, my son loves it and has done soo well both times. Hubby and son also go surfing at weekends when they can,which is something else they hadnt attempted in the UK.

 

Cal x

[Guest chris955]

I'm not referring to anyone in this thread necessarily but why do people say things like 'my kids could never do that back home' or 'kids can do so much more here' ? We have many friends in the UK with kids and none of them seem to suffer from not being able to do normal kids stuff.

I must ask about this ' the good old fashioned fun that had become non existent in the UK,' are you referring to your particular situation because I'm pretty sure kids the world over still have good old fashioned fun like building billy carts.

[Dawny]

I'm not referring to anyone in this thread necessarily but why do people say things like 'my kids could never do that back home' or 'kids can do so much more here' ? We have many friends in the UK with kids and none of them seem to suffer from not being able to do normal kids stuff.

I must ask about this ' the good old fashioned fun that had become non existent in the UK,' are you referring to your particular situation because I'm pretty sure kids the world over still have good old fashioned fun like building billy carts.

 

Back in the uk, our kids did all the normal dirty stuff, built dens, go-karts, bmx track well basically anything that involved dirt lol, i think mud pies was the no 1 favorite :arghh:

[Guest KAS]

The rain usually stopped us doing 'the good old fashioned fun"

[Guest chris955]

Exactly Dawny, what do people think kids in the UK do ? Nothing stopped me doing normal kids stuff.

[calNgary]

No probs Chris i shall explain further,,

My son is 11 , when his friends back in the UK found out he was a racing a billy kart made out of old wood that him and his dad built, they laughed their heads off and yes,, teased him a little too.

Here it isnt frowned upon to still act like a child at 11, to them the norm now is meet up at the park, see if someone can score you a few tins of beer and just hang out etc etc,, This is the difference i see between my son now and how he would be if we had stayed put.

To me the longer my son is 'child like'' the better.

 

I think its swings and roundabouts with the ''they can do more here'' i guess i personally would from my experience say ''they can do lots of outdoor things here, the difference i find is they have many more oppurtunities to actually do them as there is less chance of being rained off or it being too cold.

 

Cal x

[Guest KAS]

Not making mud pies and building dens as it was usually raining,my kids have never been out doors as much since moving here.

[ali]

she has taken to Birds of Prey like a duck to water. Yvonne, the lady that runs the Bird of Prey exhibit at Whiteman Park, even had Britt helping in the show, and that including getting the birds to fly to her with her leather gauntlet on. Apparently it usually takes months for someone to be able to do that, and Britt has been working for only 2 weeks.

 

From this experience, it looks like Britt can get into the Animal Studies program at TAFE, or perhaps even apply for Perth Zoo or WAPOL.

 

 

Karen

 

Hi Karen,

 

Just wanted to say WELL DONE BRITT .... she's obviously taking every opportunity that's offered to her .. you've every right to be proud.

[Guest kdal]

Have to agree that there are more opportunities to children/teenagers, my son also in year 11 and once a week goes to a Company in Brisbane whom are designing a new X-Box game , my son is part of the Team and loving every minute of his dream job.

 

The other son has taken up spear fishing and has friends that have their own boats that they go out on weekends, spend the day spear fishing and then bbq !! The clear waters here and the weather have certainly helped him find a new interest which he loves!

 

 

[Guest chris955]

I would imagine that is down to the individual and largely down to the parents and the way they are bought up ? My friends kids were kids, it wasn't frowned upon where they live. Are you saying you would have allowed your kids to hang around drinking beer at 11 in the UK ? I just think you seem to be confusing the influence of the country and the influence of the parents and friends. Have you heard about the massive binge drinking problem in teens in this country ? None of our friends kids have been through this either here or in the UK. You don't have to move half way across the world to get away from undesirable influences.

I definitely agree with letting kids be kids as long as possible. Both my boys who are now 9 still give us both a kiss when we drop them at school, a couple of their friends have commented on how surprised they were that they still kissing us, I am paraphrasing of course but you get the picture.

 

No probs Chris i shall explain further,,

My son is 11 , when his friends back in the UK found out he was a racing a billy kart made out of old wood that him and his dad built, they laughed their heads off and yes,, teased him a little too.

Here it isnt frowned upon to still act like a child at 11, to them the norm now is meet up at the park, see if someone can score you a few tins of beer and just hang out etc etc,, This is the difference i see between my son now and how he would be if we had stayed put.

To me the longer my son is 'child like'' the better.

Cal x

[calNgary]

No Chris I am not confusing anything,,, you maybe trying to confuse things but i know exactly what im saying,, and as i said it is Personal experience, i read it with my own eyes and hear it with my own ears,, like it or not WE PREFER life here ,it HAS given opportunities we could never have dreamed of in the UK, why the hell would i lie about it????????????

 

Oz and the UK both have good points and bad points , for me and my family with what we have found so far, Oz wins,,, for the kids.

 

Soooooo back to the OP......

 

Cal x

[Guest chris955]

Why would you lie about what ? Who said anything about lying ? When was it mentioned about where you preferred to live ? You seem to be reading things I haven't written. Why would I dislike it if you prefer life here, this seems to have nothing to do with where you prefer to live.

My point was that it is the parents and upbringing that determine to a large extent how kids behave not the country.

 

No Chris I am not confusing anything,,, you maybe trying to confuse things but i know exactly what im saying,, and as i said it is Personal experience, i read it with my own eyes and hear it with my own ears,, like it or not WE PREFER life here ,it HAS given opportunities we could never have dreamed of in the UK, why the hell would i lie about it????????????

 

Oz and the UK both have good points and bad points , for me and my family with what we have found so far, Oz wins,,, for the kids.

 

Soooooo back to the OP......

 

Cal x

[byrned]

My kids do the same things as they did in the uk, netball, soccer, cricket, going out with mates, one still dislikes school as much as he did in the uk, the only thing I would say and this is as a family we do not travel as much overseas due to the cost, daughter at uni but she would have been heading off to uni in the uk as well, going round the city on a weekend clubbing, the kids here when they get to 18 just love to party as much as the kids in england. she has had different experiences here within her high school which she would not have had in the uk, but in the uk she had experiences at school she would not have had in aus, ie going to spend a week in Belgium, studying the 2nd world war, spending 4 weeks as an exchange student in Spain, as long as children have good parents that take the time to spend with the children, guide and nurture them, does it really matter.

[byrned]

sorry meant to say the 1st world war.

[Guest shark]

As with anywhere it very much depends where you live, I doubt kids here would have those opportunities outside of the big cities.

A friends daughter in the UK has been taken on at the Cotswold Wildlife Park but she couldn't have done the same thing in mid Wales for instance.

why not ?

[ali]

I know that for some the experience of Education in Aus has been poor, but for my daughter it has offerred a lot of opportunities that she wouldn't have got in the UK. She is in an AEP group at school (public) and was chosen to attend a workshop once a term to work with published authors. I know the school she attended in the UK although it had a good reputation would not have been able to afford her these opportunities This is only our experience of one particular school (here and in the UK),

[Guest famousfive]

I think it depends a lot on where you came from and what kind of life you had as a family.Our girls,aged 7,9+10,always played outside in Ireland and the cold was never a problem.We played outside as kids and I certainly think my children were able to cope with the same,why wouldn't they be?They swam daily in the Atlantic in summer from the age of four.They built cubbies,rode bikes and scooters and of course rarely wore a coat,hat or scarf.Same as here really.

My nephews,now in their 20's,all went on work/career placement from school aged 16/17,learnt photography,played sport at a national level,went on overseas school trips annually and all through the school.They also had a pupil who won 2 golds at the special olympics in China and her trip was partially paid for by school fundraising.Not bad for a wee island Tech School with 68 pupils and 11 teachers.

 

MY view is that the opportunities here are better for some and just different for others.

[Guest shark]

I think it depends a lot on where you came from and what kind of life you had as a family.Our girls,aged 7,9+10,always played outside in Ireland and the cold was never a problem.We played outside as kids and I certainly think my children were able to cope with the same,why wouldn't they be?They swam daily in the Atlantic in summer from the age of four.They built cubbies,rode bikes and scooters and of course rarely wore a coat,hat or scarf.Same as here really.

My nephews,now in their 20's,all went on work/career placement from school aged 16/17,learnt photography,played sport at a national level,went on overseas school trips annually and all through the school.They also had a pupil who won 2 golds at the special olympics in China and her trip was partially paid for by school fundraising.Not bad for a wee island Tech School with 68 pupils and 11 teachers.

 

MY view is that the opportunities here are better for some and just different for others.

thats whats my kids miss,swimming on those lovely beaches in Ireland :yes: all they have in stoke uk is a swimming pool not the same ,and they have less freedom here.:yes: not much for them to do.

[Quoll]

I cant think of anything my boys could not have done in UK. What they couldnt do here was visit castles and play at being Roman gladiators in real roman amphitheatres (like we did on visits), have exchange visits with French students like I did at 13, see the big Live Aid concert in Hyde Park like my son did a few years ago - and the list goes on. One thing my granddaughter just adored on her visit to UK last year was the chance to roll around on the lush green grass and make daisy chains - couldnt do that where she lives down in Victoria (nor where we live either).

 

I totally agree with Chris - it isnt so much the country as the parents which shape the way a child grows up. The "they stay younger longer here" is a bit of a furphy - having been to quite a number of "Year 6 socials" and seen the way the kids dress and overheard their conversations, there is little that is childlike. When you have kids in primary school self harming (following in their big sibling's footsteps) and threatening suicide it doesnt augur well.

[Guest famousfive]

thats whats my kids miss,swimming on those lovely beaches in Ireland :yes: all they have in stoke uk is a swimming pool not the same ,and they have less freedom here.:yes: not much for them to do.

it's a different world in that part of Ireland,kids can be kids,carefree and full of life.The one thing i've always thought is that kids can be free and curious in that neck of the woods.

[Guest shark]

 

She has already done 4 months at a horse breeding farm, and now her new work placement is working with Birds of Prey.

 

I must say that I am a very proud mum, as she has taken to Birds of Prey like a duck to water. Yvonne, the lady that runs the Bird of Prey exhibit at Whiteman Park, even had Britt helping in the show, and that including getting the birds to fly to her with her leather gauntlet on. Apparently it usually takes months for someone to be able to do that, and Britt has been working for only 2 weeks.

 

From this experience, it looks like Britt can get into the Animal Studies program at TAFE, or perhaps even apply for Perth Zoo or WAPOL.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Karen

that's brilliant ,fairplay to her.:yes: my two oldest ,would love that,kind of work. they have been into birds of prey sense they were in nappies ,they are flying kestrels now,we also keep a few other hawks .we had to tell them a while back if we do move to oz ,they would have to give up the sport because falconry is banned down under ,so they dont want to go ,now. but going by your post the is falconry down under .falconry is quite big in the UK ,the is centres all over the place ,that offer government reorganised qualifications for young people you want to get into falconry.

[Guest SDJ&A]

An interesting post and some interesting replies. All valid.

Our 14yr old daughter has never had an interest in sport, doesn't seem to be into anything except 'Twilight'. Her teachers say she is doing fine at school so we have got that. I don't think she would be any different had we still been in the uk.

 

However, our 11yr old (soon to be 12) boy has really taken on the sports here.

He played soccer and cricket in the uk but here has played rugby league(a bit,not loads) plays for a local soccer club, cricket club and baseball(won the league and grand final last season) a bit of tennis and plenty of beach activities.

Through this he has made lots of friends at school and the clubs. Some of those friendships may last a lifetime for him.

 

While most of those things are also avaliable in the uk, the weather here means that it is more likely that games/training will take place and grass in being played on rather than mud. The fact that it is not freezing cold and blowing a gale also makes a difference.

 

At his soccer club last game I had a look at the pitch map. There are 4 pitchs, 3 were used for age groups 10-13 with another game straight after. 1 pitch used width ways for 4 games for younger juniors. Again twice. So at one venue in three hours there were 14 matches played! Then in the afternoon u15-16 and then the senior side played. You could be there all day watching football. There is also a good canteen so you can get a decent coffee,tea,cans,sweets etc and some nice snacks, not just meat pies, some veggie stuff too. Add all that together and you have lots of families turning up to watch(average attendence for our game 15-20 and thats just our side) there must have been upto 200 people there.

Back in the uk PE was often in the hall,due to rain, in his last year of cricket (2008) out of 10 games, 5 were rained off and the only tennis courts were at the clubs or schools.

Here, 2 out off 16 games were rained off(yes it does rain here) the park near us has 3 outdoor permanent cricket nets so he goes off with his friends. There are a couple off tennis courts not far away.

 

The sports grounds are well maintained and cricket nets/goal posts(not the goal net) are left up all the time so kids are always down there playing. Don't have to use their jumpers! You never saw them left out in the uk, they wouldn't survive the night.

 

While sport here is looked at as being important it is not the be all and end all but it's good for me,our son, our social life.

I also hope it will assist him at school.

 

I agree there are some things we are missing out on but there are lots of good activities and interesting things here if you are willing to make the effort to get out and try them.