sharksfan Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 Hi!Some of you may remember me from my postings last year. We had been living in London for the past 10 years and were arranging for a 457 visa. Well we finally arrived at the beginning of the year and so have been here now for 2 months. (somehow seems longer though )It has been a turbulent couple of months adjusting to the relaxed way of life (from 100 k/h London). On the whole I would say that we are 10 times happier here in Gold Coast than we were in London. As many of you have said before, Oz is just different - not a safer version of of South Africa by any stretch. It is very much its own country. Have found it particularly interesting to find my way around the supermarkets (and cannot agree more about the trolleys with their own minds!!) - Interestingly it has taken me the best part of the last 2 months to find a decent brand of cheese. Ok, I admit I am very fussy , but that I could not find decent "Mild Cheddar" as you would in Tescos/Sainsburys (for those who have been to UK) or Elite Gouda/Cheddar (for those in SA) simply got on my nerves. Its the silly things like that which have been the most challenging. The people here are just so friendly. Having moved to England at the age of 19, I have grown accustomed to withdrawing into myself at supermarkets/at the doctors (eyes down, speak only when spoken to, etc). So arriving in QLD to find friendly people who are just so relaxed is quite an adjustment - a very welcome one We have a 6 month old bonny girl who constantly smiles at everyone and as a result we always have people who come up to us in the shops to say hello to her and touch her .... ie just be NORMAL! The cherry on top is that our 2 year old son is loving his kindy and has just blossomed since being here. No more being indoors watching dvds most of the time! I have found the Aussie approach to children to be excellent. Our son is a super active little boy who boarders on ADHD sometimes - never once have I been called to fetch him from kindy. He was at a playschool in Maritzburg for 3 months and I was called on several occasions to collect him early. Also, the UK childminder would not have him full time because she could not cope with his energy. So you can imagine what a relief it is to have found somewhere that welcomes him and stimulates him adequately.My advice to those who are thinking of making the move: be prepared for for an emotional challenge. As it has often been said before: Emigrating is not for sissies! I remind myself of that frequently as I sometimes question whether we have done the right thing (would be great to have grannies and aunties around when you have young kiddies) . When you have a bad day, its is so easy to hanker after what you know - HOWEVER, the good days outweigh the bad and we have only just begun........ Cheerio from the Gold Coast! Sharksfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queensland Girl Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 welcome to the GC ! I have a son diagnosed with ADD in SA, and put on Ritalin. His teachers in Durban said he was "too difficult to teach unmedicated" (Grade 1 & 2)Hey-guess what- since he has been in Ozz(5 years) he has never been medicated. He is also one of the top performers in his class. Makes you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dax Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 (edited) welcome to the GC ! I have a son diagnosed with ADD in SA, and put on Ritalin. His teachers in Durban said he was "too difficult to teach unmedicated" (Grade 1 & 2)Hey-guess what- since he has been in Ozz(5 years) he has never been medicated. He is also one of the top performers in his class. Makes you think!I'm ateacher in South Oz and i can verify that far too many kids with ADD get put onto Ritalin. In many cases it is totally unnescessary, not to speak of the cases that were misdiagnosed - happens here in Oz as well.Mostly I advise parens not to put their kids on Ritalin - some of the poor little buggers are bombed out of their skulls and sit in your classroom like a 10 year old zombie.Oh I do have a "cherub" or two in my class, but where I teach we are quite a conservative bunch of teachers and we are very consistent and strict in our behaviour management. I believe a number of more 'liberal' schools are starting to take our cue.Our basic unofficial philosophy is that a liberal education does not mean that "nature's waters flows over nature's acres." Our kids enjoy large measures of freedom, with appliacble measures of responsibility to go with it. It's basically a deriavate of Choice Theory - make a good choice and enjoy a reward, make a bad choice and suffer a consequence.Cheers,DaxPS: Oh shucks, i seemed to have strayed off the topic of the thread - Sorry Edited March 1, 2007 by Dax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kangaroo Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 (edited) Hi Sharksfan!Great - sounds as if you and your family have really adjusted well...so far so good! Thanks for sharing your progress with us - it's inspiring to all of us still in the process of going.PS: I just got my eyes tested the other day and the optometrist and I started chatting...he said that many kids get put onto Ritalin where it sometimes is simply that there is something (very minor, very fixable) wrong with the child's vision - the child then cannot concentrate on something for too long and becomes frustrated and develop 'impossible behaviour'...so yes, I understand ADD is real for many kids, but it seems adequate stimulation (as these kids are often highly intelligent and get bored very easily), as well as checking out simple things like adequate hearing and vision can perhaps go a long mile before simply resorting to medicine. Edited March 1, 2007 by kangaroo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyGirl Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Thanks for the welcome, Queensland Girl.No worries Dax - info was interesting to read!Hey Kangaroo - its really is scary when you hear these kinds of stories. Scary because ADD/ADHD seems to be diagnosed all too quickly. Good luck with your journey - look forward to hearing your news as you progress.Kind Regards,CandyGirl (previously posted under Sharksfan) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SASydneysider Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Interestingly it has taken me the best part of the last 2 months to find a decent brand of cheese. Ok, I admit I am very fussy , but that I could not find decent "Mild Cheddar" as you would in Tescos/Sainsburys (for those who have been to UK) or Elite Gouda/Cheddar (for those in SA) simply got on my nerves. Its the silly things like that which have been the most challenging. Hi Ex Sharksfan now CandyGirl,If you've not yet managed to get your favourite cheese, try Premium Mainland Quality cheese. It is a New Zealand cheese which is freely available in Aus. It's a mild cheddar and is also available in 'light' - less fat and calories. I use the 'light' version which is in blue packaging. I'm sure you'll love it!SAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyGirl Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 Thanks for that SASyndneysider - I will have a look in Coles this arvo! Candygirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 welcome to the GC ! I have a son diagnosed with ADD in SA, and put on Ritalin. His teachers in Durban said he was "too difficult to teach unmedicated" (Grade 1 & 2)Hey-guess what- since he has been in Ozz(5 years) he has never been medicated. He is also one of the top performers in his class. Makes you think!Goodness missed this one - glad to hear I am not alone here and maybe there is hope Middle boy Michael is an ADHD - diagnosed remedial school for 3 year ritalin since he was 7 after 2 years off war from us until we eventually relented and 2 years ago back into mainstream different child on a trial drug called Concerta - best thing since sliced bread for my boy - RITALIN horrible mood swings weight loss unpredictable as parents hated seeing our son empty eyes - Concerta does not change him but definitely help him at school focus(yes it is a prescription drug and has the horror story insert ) but amazing results for us (may not work for others but for our boy it does ) I am hoping and praying that being a 1st world country Australia will deal with our special qifted child differently then good old SA. Good to hear your story Queensland girl - one positive party thought for us as a family(we where nervous to mention it as we where told could be detrimental to our acceptance to AUS from one of the immigration agents we originally approached ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queensland Girl Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Hi EricaA little feel good storyOur daughter (our middle child) was sent to Livingstone (remedial School) on the Berea for grade 3 and 4. She was mainstreamed from Grade 5.She is Dyslexic. From our arrival in Ozz she has had Learning Support from the Learning Support teachers.She is now in Grade 11. She has to work really , really hard as her learning disabilities are still there but she has learnt to cope. The way she is achieving now we think that she will achieve her goal of being accepted into University to do a Bachelor of Nursing.In Australia there are no dedicated Remedial Schools and the children are supported by learning Support Teachers in mainstream education. I am not sure if this is a better system, as for us the remedial school was such a positive experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.