Schoolies – My Job as a Parent

My Job as a parent is almost over. My daughter will be 18 this month, she has finished Year 12, (with Certificate of Merit) and the exams are completed. All in all the year has been reasonable – not too stressful for either parent or student.

Ms almost 18 came to me last week and said I have been invited to go away for schoolies……… I was dreading the thought. Before I was able to comment, she then piped up………………. “But I don’t want to go, I don’t want to be babysitting them, while they get drunk and stuff”

This got me thinking – firstly I must have done a good job parenting, if she can already see this, secondly what is ‘and stuff?’

She told me some of what the girls are planning, getting drunk, trashing wherever they go, seeing if they can find some marijuana and get stoned. I imagine in there is the gratuitous sex, possibly unprotected. Oh I can’t bear to think about it.

In her wisdom, she said no. She realized it would lead to nothing but trouble, that she wouldn’t be able to enjoy herself as she would be babysitting the immature people of the party.

I understand that some people, both parents and children see muck-up-day and schoolies as a sign of growing up – what happened to getting your first car, getting your license, being allowed out late, your first legal drink.

My daughter already has a car, she is well on the way to getting her licence, she is allowed out late, (midnight) as long as I can pick her up. She may have tasted one or two alcoholic drinks but has certainly not been drunk.

These are all benchmarks in the growing up part of life. If parents think it is okay to allow the 15yo out after 10pm and not know where they are, that is not my problem. My problem is my child and where she is and what she is doing.

Schoolies is just another excuse for another party. What I want to know is where is the money coming from to fund this alcoholic binge? – If it is coming from the parents, they ought to be ashamed in permitting good money to be thrown away in this manner.

If this money is coming from government money, then they are being paid too much.

If this money is coming from part-time work, then the expenditure is fine, because the children have had to save the money and have learnt a lesson in doing do. My problem is that money could well be spent on something far more worthwhile.

Perhaps I am a party spoiler, perhaps I am too strict, but I certainly know where my children are, what they are doing and when they are doing it.

Schoolies is asking for trouble and from an accommodation point of view – I fully understand WHY certain establishments REFUSE all male or all female parties AND why around schoolies week they vet heavily AND increase costs. It’s called self-protection from a selfish minority.

If you have children attending ‘schoolies’ please please read them the riot act and hopefully no harm will come to them.

Children in wolves clothing

I saw a picture the other day of a child, (a child of famous parents actually), she was wearing high heels (of 5cm) at the tender age of 5 or 6 years old. She was wearing a skirt that was more suited to a person of perhaps 18-25 years old (if you have the legs)

I am sure you get my drift.

But……… what made me write this is that my daughter, (yes, previously featured) was shopping with her aunty for clothes for an 18 month old girl. Easy you would think, pants, little skirts, t-shirts etc.

My daughter came home and said “Mum, aunty, bought clothes that even I wouldn’t wear. She is asking for trouble from paedophiles”

I thought OMG – is that really what my 17yo, almost 18yo thinks of some clothes. I asked what she was talking about and she related to me, that aunty didn’t think a little girl should wear pants, it’s not appropriate.

FFS – This is for a child that is still in nappies, hardly walking and can not walk up and down stairs!

I thought back to my children and their nappy days, unless the weather was unbearably hot, they were always in pants/shorts and nappies. Rarely was my daughter in skirts, simply because I believed it infringed on her freedom to discover the world, would prevent her from crawling and her knees would constantly be grazed.

By making children mini-me’s of mum (it seems to happen more with girls that boys) are we creating a problem, physically, by not allowing children to crawl around and hurt their knees etc, and then there is the mental aspect. We are so concerned about children being sexualised too early and yet we allow them to dress like adults at such a tender age.

Leave children to be children. Leave the skirts and fancy dresses for dinner and parties, not going to crèche and day care.

Let the littlies of this world experience the world as children.

Plus think of the money you will be saving! – No more latest fashions unless you go out, no more unworn grown out of clothes in the cupboards. Save the money for the special events and let your kids wear the same clothes more than once.

Trust me no-one will notice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m late – so are 1,000,000 people – hold that bus

Every family has this problem, doesn’t matter if it is Monday morning for school and work, or Sunday morning for sport. The kids can not get organised.

Every weekday I have the same argument, This argument is no longer.

I fixed it, plain and simple. I started for a week telling them that the bus into town doesn’t wait for them, so why should I?

Then that progressed to me starting the car and waiting 2 minutes. The next stage is waiting 1 minute and driving 100 metres.

I think you get the message – the longer they take – the further away you are from the front door. I suppose I have the advantage in that I live on a farm and the nearest public bus is 7km away, the school bus only 800m (which I normally make the kids walk) and my sons school is something like 20km away.

But they are getting the message – 1 bus will not wait for 1 person, because that bus has a schedule to keep and so do I – so now my bus leaves on time, more often than not with all passengers on board and I no longer have a yelling match trying to hurry them along.

Once again – have fun – children and schedules and all that fun – are just part of growing up – the less you pander – the easier your life will be ;)

Muck up (Get Arrested Day) for Students

Yup – that is what it seems the celebration for finishing year 12 has come to.

I woke up this morning to the radio news telling me that an incident occurred on and near a railway station in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. That the same school students who were doing the assaulting (Which is what it is) were under attack 2 days prior and I believe 1 or 2 students still remain in hospital. Those attackers have not been located yet.

In the railway station attack a teacher was man-handled when they tried to intervene by removing 2 cartons of eggs from offending students.

Is this considered acceptable in today’s society? – I think not. But perhaps I am wrong.

On the way to taking my son to school – who I normally drop off approx 1km from school and let him walk, I decided to drop him off at the school gates as there were students in costume yelling and screaming, with air horns and sirens, I felt threatened – I can’t imagine what my 12yo son would have thought. But knowing him – he would likely join in – which is something I wanted to avoid!!

Has there been such a drop in moral standards – that today’s children think it is acceptable to threaten, bully and attack both other students and people in authority because ‘it is their right?’

My daughter who has just completed Year 12 – and her muck-up day was Tuesday, she said that they had no problems, that everything went smoothly. Only one concern, which she did mention but didn’t seem to think odd. One of the rabbits (there were two) did not speak and no-one was aware who it was. This didn’t raise an eyebrow with her, maybe I am too suspicious, but I thought perhaps an interloper? Don’t know, but all was okay in the end.

Today’s youth, from about the ages of 15 to about the age of 25, seem to think that they can do as they please, whenever they please, regardless of who they hurt/kill/maim and it doesn’t matter.

And here we go – when I was growing up – if I EVER spoke back to my parents or an adult in authority – there were consequences. God help us if we spoke back to a police officer. I understand that not every parent, every person in authority, every police officer is always right, but what about the majority? Do normal law-abiding citizens have to cower inside their homes and cars and hope that nothing happens.

Does the ordinary citizen have to walk away from helping people in distress because of the threat of attack?

Muck-Up-Day – is not only the responsibility of the school, it is the responsibility of the parents, to ensure that they know what their children are up, that those children know the boundaries, that these children know when enough is enough.

Life is not a video game – you can’t just press reset.

Muck-Up-Day as a celebration is fine – but get it off the streets, and back in to the school yard, away from the public eye and punish those students that do things off school ground IN school uniform and bring the school into disrepute.

God save the youth of today, because it would appear no-one else has the power.

The Peanuts and the Elephants

I like analogies; they tell a lot about the situation, they tell a lot about the person.

They can convey a message without it seeming harsh, they can convey a very important message without losing the meaning.

I work in the financial field and often have to remind business owners that the elephants are not the bread and butter of business, they are the cream.

The peanuts are the small business owners – who more often than not pay their bills on time – who rarely screw you for price. Who are friendly and certainly less demanding than the big multi-national or even the national company.

How many times have you read in the news that company A has failed and with it company B and C are dragged down?

This is due to the fact that Company B and C failed to look after the peanuts, the smaller companies, the companies that pay their bills on time and are less demanding.

If company B & C had looked after the peanuts, the small fry, the small business, they would have these companies to fall back on – but often companies B & C are enticed by the lure of money, of the next big job, of the next big payment waiting to come in next week and they overlook the bread and butter.

Peanuts might be smaller, but they are far more numerous and certainly taste better than an elephant.

I would rather have 10 small companies owing me $10,000 in total, than one big company owing me $10,000. I know for a fact that 9 of those small companies can’t fail, whereas that one big one might just do that that.

If you are in business, regardless of the size, make sure you look after the peanuts, you can eat them, but elephants, they require much care and hard work before they are edible.

Morals in the employment field

I once had the opportunity to accept a high paying job, very close to home. One that on the surface, it suited me – I suited it.



The job interview was a success, the offices were nice, the parking good, like I said everything a girl could want.

UNTIL………………….. I was browsing the product lines that were manufactured and I realized this company made energy drinks. This was way before they become a fad, way before people even knew what they were and how much damage they could cause when used incorrectly.

The product was not widely available back then, the warning label clearly stated, not suitable for people under the age of 18years, not suitable for pregnant or lactating women, not suitable if you have a heart condition. So many warnings on a product that was available on the open market to be abused.

I made a decision, right there, right then. Regardless of the outcome of the interview, regardless of the pay conditions, regardless of how good the position was – I would not take this position.



I could not take this position on moral grounds.



I would be interested in your thoughts and what you would have done in the same situation.

The Sad Passing of Common Sense.

This ode was sent to me in 2006 and after recent conversations - I thought it topical to post.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

(I'm not sure of the origins of this little dedication - but thank-you to the person who composed it)

If you know the origins, please post it would be greatly appreciated.