[Sundae]

We gave away many children to Australia from the '20s to the '60s - an estimate of 10,000 if you can believe that.

They were from orphanages, although many were not actually orphans - they were simply illegitimate or from families too poor to bring them up. On arrival, many were trapped into a life of great physical hardship, used and abused as slave labour. They were deprived of education, food and emotional contact. Those at home believed they were heading for a better life with boundless opportunuities.

Not particularly relevant to the OT, but brought to mind by Dani & Bruce's posts. No culture has a monopoly on child cruelty.

Back to the OT - what good does it do the children to be thus hothoused?
My sister pushed and pushed my neice in school. She was so determined that she would pass the 11+ and get to grammar school. She even used the words "to have the opportunities I didn't." But what is she going to do after her A Levels? She certainly won't have been prepared for Uni by her parents. They do everything as a family and the parents do everything for her. She is not allowed to get a weekend job, she is not allowed to belong to any clubs or societies. She is only involved in the school plays because it was a curriculum requirement for one of her courses. The household takes the Sun newspaper, has no knowledge of politics outside its pages and recently my sister was baffled by a reference to Cameron Mackintosh - she had no idea who he was.

I know they think Ste & I are pretty snooty, with our big city lifestyles and our knowledge of things like out of town pantomimes and Tube maps. I don't look down on her - I just question whether bringing your children up to be ignorant of anything learned outside of a classroom is really best for them. Ditto over-protection. And as some Dwellars know, this was an issue last year that spread a lot of hurt around. I didn't blame my sister than and don't now, but it raised questions in my mind.