 Family and Parenting Different members of your family will adjust to their new life in Australia more quickly than others. For example, children will often learn English and Australian customs faster than their parents. Some of you might also find it difficult to understand and accept Australian culture. It is important to overcome the challenges of adjusting to your new life by working together as a family. Talk with your children about the differences between life in Australia and life in Africa. Support each other and respect each other. You can learn a lot from each other during this difficult time. In Australia, men and women have the same rights and responsibilities and family roles might be quite different from what you are used to. In Australia, it is common for both men and women to go to work. Because of this, men and women often try to find ways to share household responsibilities such as looking after children and cooking and cleaning. The most important thing is that you work together. Viola and Michael have settled in Australia with their children. We do all things together. The man is going to work and he can prepare lunch for the children and do the breakfast and take the children to school. When you spend more time with kids, it's good because you can give them some advice or you can teach them so that they learn from you and you can also learn some things from them. Disciplining children is an important part of parenting but physical punishment in Australia is strongly discouraged and it is against the law to beat your children. Children have the right to be safe and protected. You can use other forms of discipline like taking away privileges or sending your child to their room. Reward your child for good behavior and lead by example. If you are having problems with disciplining children, you can access family counseling and get advice from parenting support services. Some of you will find it difficult to manage the different demands of life in Australia. Managing work, education and family responsibilities is hard for us all. A lot of families use childcare services when working or learning English. There are different types of full and part-time childcare available for children who are too young to go to school. Some childcare can cost a lot of money and waiting lists can be long so ask about childcare as soon as possible. Trained childcare workers will look after your children in a safe and secure environment. Your children are kept busy learning things to prepare them for school and help them interact with other children. They will be very well looked after and they will have fun. There are also play groups where parents and their children get together. This is a good way to meet other people in the community and it can help your children learn social skills. Ask your settlement service provider about these groups. All the children. Some of you will feel that some Australian ways go against your own cultural beliefs. For example, in Australia some young adults move out of home before they marry. It is also common for young people to have relationships that don't lead to marriage. Some of you might also be a little unhappy about the clothes that teenagers choose to wear. These differences can be difficult to understand or accept but this is all part of growing up in Australia. Try to be accepting and respect each other. Teen life in Australia. You need to talk to your parents about the things you learn at school. Ask your parents about life in Africa and try to understand your parents' experiences and your African heritage. Remember, your parents might not learn English or adapt to the Australian way of life as quickly as you. You need to be patient with them and they need to be patient with you. You should try to work together. This includes helping at home with the household, washing dishes or looking after younger brothers and sisters. There are many temptations in our society. You should enjoy your freedom here but you need to be very careful not to spend too much money of your wage or allowance on things like mobile phones, CDs, shoes, clothes and takeaway food. You might need to contribute money to your family for food and rent. Youth centres can be a good way to get involved with sports, recreational activities and to meet other people in your area. Sarah is a youth worker. Youth centres are a place where young people can come and join in in different activities. Meet other young people who are in age from different backgrounds and participate in new things. Education activities, recreation stuff, art activities and meet with workers as well if they want to speak to an adult or another young person about personal issues. Because it can be really isolating living in the community particularly if you're newly arrived here and so this is a place where everyone's welcome and accepted. Helping family come to Australia. Now that you live in Australia some of you may want to find out how you can get other family members here. There is a government program that can help. However, it is important that you get settled first. You need to learn English, find a job, find a place to live enroll your children in school and learn about your new environment. You will find it very difficult to settle if you're trying to support an extended family at the same time. When you have settled, ask about the special humanitarian program and the possibility of proposing your family members. But it is important to understand that the government receives thousands of applications to propose relatives every year and can only grant a small number of visas.