Things You Need to Know About Parenting In the USA (When You’re an Aussie) – By Vicky Dal Molin
So I came across quite an amusing article today titled 15 Things You Need To Know About Parenting in Australia by Jenna Gallina**. It brought me back and reminded me exactly how fabulous growing up in Australia really was. Which made me think…. If it that much different here in the USA? And what list would I write as someone parenting in the United States? So that’s todays topic for me. Let’s see really how different (if at all) at least for some of them.
- Tomato sauce goes with everything. Ketchup anyone. Apparently this is a universal rule across the globe. Kids love to drown everything in the stuff. I saw some kid the other day at the Bronx Zoo eat only ketchup. I keep Tomato Sauce in the fridge though…. Everyone refuses to eat it an I’m a-ok with that. More for me!
- The perfect Christmas for the kids involves a beach, a BBQ and a body board. It cracks me up at how people cannot get their heads around the idea of a warm Xmas. For me it’s all about BBQing and trips to the beach. I tried that here one year….. it was a fail. So yes it is different but hey…. At least when I am singing Christmas carols with the boys – it doesn’t seem so ridiculous. We really can dream of a white Xmas…. With actual snow!
- Kids must follow their dad’s footy team. Isn’t this universal anywhere. The dads footy team, baseball team, basketball team. And we don’t just stop at the national professional codes. There’s the college leagues and even high school teams. Sport is serious here in America…. Us Aussies will appreciate how much!
- No matter how hard you try to avoid it, cricket is a part of your child’s education. Is cricket even a sport? Nope I’m not a fan. I almost disowned my own brother when I heard he had given up footy for cricket. But yeah no one here watches or even remotely cares about cricket. The other day I actually saw a game going on – an actual cricket game. On the crappiest excuse for a field ever (it’s baseball season…..I suspect that was the best they could get). They were all dressed in white and I even saw a cooler out in the field. Unless you’re an import… cricket doesn’t exist.
- The Queen has several birth dates. The Queen? Of Sheba? Like in the King of Queens? No one cares, there is no birthdate…. Unless there’s a royal visit no one is interested (even with a royal visit) except those impacted by the gridlock caused in NYC.
- Bathers, togs, cossies, swimmers – whatever you call them – they need to be sun safe! There’s definitely sun safe awareness here in the US but not near where it should be. I will admit my kid wears as full coverage rashies as I can possibility get on him, has a great supply of Quicksilver and Billabong full coverage hats (you Aussies will appreciate that) and I keep sunscreen in just about every bag we own. However a lot of people seem fairly ignorant of the implications though to sun damage. I can’t count how many times I have been ridiculed by my partner and others for the sun hat in the trunk (that’s boot in Aussie) of my car. They call it my grandma hat. I call it my anti-aging secret weapon. ☺
- “S” is for suck-it-up, Buttercup. Snakes, spiders, sharks, stingrays. Pfft. You’re in ‘Straya now, mate. Exactly! I’ll crush the nearest spider, bug or anything that dares to make it’s way into our home. My son however (and to my disbelief) is extremely frightened of ants and bumblebees or really anything that’s smaller than a fly. Now I know he is half Aussie thanks to me being the mum and all…. I’m blaming his father for the fear of tiny insects. That has to change! We can’t be having any of that when he goes back to Aus!
- Aussie men make the very best superheros (and villians) Chris Hemsworth. Heath Ledger. Hugh Jackman. Need I say more? No…. No more need be said!
**15-things-need-know-parenting-australia
Tags: children, family, kids, later mom, motherhood, New York City, nyc, parenting, raising a family, raising a son, toddlers
