# children in southern spain



## medgirl (Oct 1, 2011)

What do children do for pass time after school in Spain? or do they do like they do here sit in front of the box and complain of boredom all the time???


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

medgirl said:


> What do children do for pass time after school in Spain? or do they do like they do here sit in front of the box and complain of boredom all the time???



YES!!!! Mine _could_ go swimming, go to the beach, go to the mall, visit their friends, just be outside cos its warm and sunny.......... but no, they sit in front of the tv or on their laptops chatting to friends on facebook and moan cos its too hot out there. the novelty of the sun, pool etc soon wears off 

The difference in Spain is that the afternoons and evenings tend to be more active, unlike the UK when everyone gets home they close the doors to the outside world

Jo xxx


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> YES!!!! Mine _could_ go swimming, go to the beach, go to the mall, visit their friends, just be outside cos its warm and sunny.......... but no, they sit in front of the tv or on their laptops chatting to friends on facebook and moan cos its too hot out there. the novelty of the sun, pool etc soon wears off
> 
> The difference in Spain is that the afternoons and evenings tend to be more active, unlike the UK when everyone gets home they close the doors to the outside world
> 
> Jo xxx


yes, the daylight hours are longer, so they _can_ do more outside stuff, for longer

but during the school term, they have to get up so darned early to start school at 8am, & have so much homework & studying to do, that they often don't have the energy to do much else!!!

younger dd goes to a dance class once a week, and elder dd plays a lot of music

other kids do gym classes & so on

but they get A LOT of homework!!!


----------



## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Today my youngest son is playing golf with his Dad after school. He generally does kick a ball about in the garden or bowl a few overs (a mad cricketer!). The pool is redundant largely. A complete waste of space for the majority of the year imo...
My daughter is ploughing through her homework and would generally still be working until we put our foot down and tell her enough is enough! So, generally speaking, they are doing exactly what they would have been doing in the UK except I'm not saddled with quite the same amount of wet muddy clothing that my son used to create when he played outside in the UK!


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

In theory there is an array of after school activities, obviously depending on the area in which you live. Even though these activities may take place in local schools, they don't normally have anything to do with the schools. They are provided by outside companies and subsidised by the town hall. My daughter has, through the years, attended music and movement, infant sports, swimming, dance, athletics, and environmental activities. They were ALL very good, or good. Well taught, fun activities, interested motivated teachers - well worth it. 
These were once maybe twice a week *max*. because as everyone has said, they get a lot of homework and they get up early in the morning. Secondary school starts at around 8:15 and primary at 9:00 around here. 
Until secondary my daughter's main activity was playing with friends in her room, in the garden, in the park and at each others houses of course. For the first time in about 10 years she's not doing anything except riding at the weekend and she'll have to start maths and physics privates soon as she's in her pre university year where the students are lucky if they get time to breathe! Actually, her main pastime nowadays is talking on the phone, but it seems that this has been a teenage girl's favourite hobby since the phone was invented.
I agree with what Jo says about the day being longer. OH and daughter get home around 3:00 and have lunch then. (I have lunch at 4:00 or 4:30, but that's because of work), and the evening meal isn't until 9:00 - 10:00, so there's a good block of time there to do what ever you want. It's not like the Uk where many people eat at around 6 and don't go out again. Also there is more light and the weather is generally better than the UK.
However, in general the kids around us do things almost every day, especially if they're doing badly at school (English, maths and Spanish twice a week and then a sport). I don't know how they manage it, but they do!


----------



## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

The children here live an idyllic life, surfing and swimming in the Atlantic, fishing from the rocks.

Playing a hide and seek game with a plastic bottle filled with pebbles. 

Then there is the football, interesting to see both sexes playing in the same match.

However they seem to have a mountain of homework and sometimes we do not see them at all.


----------



## medgirl (Oct 1, 2011)

Thanks for that, Its much the same then!!! only difference is that if they decide to drag them self away from the telly they can go out doors and enjoy the sunshine and play out at least they have the choice to go out doors!! here we have not seen sun shine since last April and that is no joke!! all we get is rain and wind so its home from school and stay in doors most of the time. 

Medgirl


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

medgirl said:


> Thanks for that, Its much the same then!!! only difference is that if they decide to drag them self away from the telly they can go out doors and enjoy the sunshine and play out at least they have the choice to go out doors!! here we have not seen sun shine since last April and that is no joke!! all we get is rain and wind so its home from school and stay in doors most of the time.
> 
> Medgirl



Kids!!!! Mine wouldnt go out last summer cos it was too hot - and actually I could see their point, altho there was the pool, or the beach! However, if they do go outside you have to make sure they're covered in sunscreen and it is very hot! 

Funny, when we first arrived in Spain in February, the very first morning, they came rushing downstairs with their cossies on, goggles, armbands.... it was freezing, the pool was icy, but in they went, however, after 2 years they wouldnt go near the thing! The first year, they loved the fiestas and the going out at night to eat or just wander, but the novelty wore off and now they're usually plugged into some device or other and rarely even come out of their rooms, unless its to eat 

Jo xxx


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

............... BTW, I'm not trying to put you off lol!!!

Jo xxx


----------



## medgirl (Oct 1, 2011)

Hepa said:


> The children here live an idyllic life, surfing and swimming in the Atlantic, fishing from the rocks.
> 
> Playing a hide and seek game with a plastic bottle filled with pebbles.
> 
> ...


Sounds just like the way life should be for kids


----------



## medgirl (Oct 1, 2011)

jojo said:


> ............... BTW, I'm not trying to put you off lol!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


lol no Jo dont think anything would put me off, but the kids well they are another story all together!!!If your children had the choice to live in Spain or the Uk which would they prefer and also how long have you lived in Spain and how old were the children when you moved sorry for all the questions ??????????????? just really interested hope you dont mind!!! Medgirl


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

medgirl said:


> lol no Jo dont think anything would put me off, but the kids well they are another story all together!!!If your children had the choice to live in Spain or the Uk which would they prefer and also how long have you lived in Spain and how old were the children when you moved sorry for all the questions ??????????????? just really interested hope you dont mind!!! Medgirl



HHmmm, well theres a story. We moved over nearly four years ago, when my daughter was 11 and my son 13. My son wanted to go and loved it from the start, my daughter had to be bribed (she didnt want to leave her friends). The first few weeks were difficult cos they did miss the UK, but my son settled into the international school and was happy, my daughter didnt like the school and begged to go to a state school, so we put her into a state school and she hated that too, so we sent her to another state school. she liked that one better, but never really settled. Thats how things were for a year or so. Anyway, then the international school that my son was at more or less closed, so we moved him to another one and by this time we decided that my daughter should come out of the state school as she was learning nothing and hated everything, probably her age causing her problems as much as anything else (13 by then). She would refuse to do homework, refuse to speak Spanish, refuse to do lessons, was caught skiving, I found cigarettes in her room.....

So we sent them both to an international school in Benalmadena, which was lovely. We moved close by and they had friends and we lived in a wonderful area. My son took his GCSEs and did well, my daughter made some good friends, but neither would go out in the sun, they didnt like the pool, the beach.... and as I said earlier, spent most of their time playing on ps3, xbox, facebook....... My daughter went out with her friends occasionally at weekends, but she hated the sun and heat , she'd become self conscious of wearing summer clothes (??)

Anyway, once my son had taken his GCSEs, he decided he didnt want to go on to sixth form at the international school, he found a college close to our home town in England, my daughter, altho she'd settled wanted to go back to the UK if he did, my husband had been commuting all this time and was starting to get weary of it, so the August just passed, much to my horror, we came back to England!

I hate it here, I miss my friends, the way of life, the heat, the views........ EVERYTHING, I go to bed at night hoping that being here is just a bad dream and I wake up in the morning hoping that when I open my eyes I'll be in Spain again!! But my daughter loves it and has settled well, my son wants to go back to Spain, but we cant leave her behind..... And thats where our story ends for now LOL, However, who knows whats round the corner???

Jo xxx


----------



## medgirl (Oct 1, 2011)

jojo said:


> HHmmm, well theres a story. We moved over nearly four years ago, when my daughter was 11 and my son 13. My son wanted to go and loved it from the start, my daughter had to be bribed (she didnt want to leave her friends). The first few weeks were difficult cos they did miss the UK, but my son settled into the international school and was happy, my daughter didnt like the school and begged to go to a state school, so we put her into a state school and she hated that too, so we sent her to another state school. she liked that one better, but never really settled. Thats how things were for a year or so. Anyway, then the international school that my son was at more or less closed, so we moved him to another one and by this time we decided that my daughter should come out of the state school as she was learning nothing and hated everything, probably her age causing her problems as much as anything else (13 by then). She would refuse to do homework, refuse to speak Spanish, refuse to do lessons, was caught skiving, I found cigarettes in her room.....
> 
> So we sent them both to an international school in Benalmadena, which was lovely. We moved close by and they had friends and we lived in a wonderful area. My son took his GCSEs and did well, my daughter made some good friends, but neither would go out in the sun, they didnt like the pool, the beach.... and as I said earlier, spent most of their time playing on ps3, xbox, facebook....... My daughter went out with her friends occasionally at weekends, but she hated the sun and heat , she'd become self conscious of wearing summer clothes (??)
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing that story with me
Oh Jo I feel sad for you i hope that some day in the not to distant future you will find your self back in Spain again!! Well for us we have 2 little ones who will be fine settling as they are just 3 and then there is the 14 year old ...........
hubby also planning on commuting he works away anyway a month at a time so all the same to him if he comes here Ireland or Spain


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

medgirl said:


> Thank you for sharing that story with me
> Oh Jo I feel sad for you i hope that some day in the not to distant future you will find your self back in Spain again!! Well for us we have 2 little ones who will be fine settling as they are just 3 and then there is the 14 year old ...........
> hubby also planning on commuting he works away anyway a month at a time so all the same to him if he comes here Ireland or Spain



FOURTEEN????? aaaggghh!!! Seriously tho, yes your little ones will be fine I'm sure. I know of lots of people with young children who have commuting husbands and are really happy and settled. My problem was that we should have done it sooner, when the kids were younger - hindsights a wonderful thing isnt it! The problem is that teenagers are usually settled where they are and there isnt actually much choice for them in Spain as far as education goes. they are too old to go to state school, so you're faced with paying for an international school. Once they have done their GCSEs, they can stay and do A-levels (altho the choice of subjects tends to be limited), but then what?? Lynn, on the forum has just sent her eldest back to the UK to go to Uni, she has two younger ones (12 and 14) still with her in Spain. I'm not sure what their long term plans are, but Spain and the economic climate isnt really geared for british teenagers who have left education or who want to go on to uni........

Jo xx


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> FOURTEEN????? aaaggghh!!! Seriously tho, yes your little ones will be fine I'm sure. I know of lots of people with young children who have commuting husbands and are really happy and settled. My problem was that we should have done it sooner, when the kids were younger - hindsights a wonderful thing isnt it! The problem is that teenagers are usually settled where they are and there isnt actually much choice for them in Spain as far as education goes. they are too old to go to state school, so you're faced with paying for an international school. Once they have done their GCSEs, they can stay and do A-levels (altho the choice of subjects tends to be limited), but then what?? Lynn, on the forum has just sent her eldest back to the UK to go to Uni, she has two younger ones (12 and 14) still with her in Spain. I'm not sure what their long term plans are, but Spain and the economic climate isnt really geared for *british teenagers who have left education or who want to go on to uni........*
> 
> Jo xx


you mean who have left British/International education, of course - although some do go onto uni in Spain

those who have been through the state system can go on to uni here on the same basis as a Spanish kid - although it has to be said that for any teenager leaving school at 16, or even 18 & NOT wanting to go to uni - the situation here atm is awful, to put it mildly

uni might even only be delaying the inevitable by a few years, although fingers crossed it will improve by the time they leave


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> you mean who have left British/International education, of course - although some do go onto uni in Spain
> 
> those who have been through the state system can go on to uni here on the same basis as a Spanish kid - although it has to be said that for any teenager leaving school at 16, or even 18 & NOT wanting to go to uni - the situation here atm is awful, to put it mildly
> 
> uni might even only be delaying the inevitable by a few years, although fingers crossed it will improve by the time they leave


Yes I meant those who didnt enter the Spanish system at a young enough age to enable them to gain Spanish qualifications or fluency. Altho there are plenty of Spanish kids and British who go from an International school into a Spanish uni, alth total fluency in Spanish and good grades are the key. And for the total fluency in Spanish, they needed to have been there since they were young

Jo xxx


----------



## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Most, if not all, of the Spanish kids I teach (English as a second language) have very active lives after school with many activities arranged for them by their parents, such as music lessons, English, football, dancing - they seem to do so much. As an ice-breaker question for new classes, 'What is your favourite TV show?', it is interesting to note that very few of them watch TV at all. Mind you, Spanish TV at its best is at about the same level as US or Aussie TV, so perhaps it's not surprising they don't watch much. My teaching partner and me had a strange couple of weeks in September when we had around 20 Mums (and one Dad) all vying for our time as an English teacher for their kids, all of them fighting amongst themselves as they tried to juggle all the other activities and find time (in _our_ busy schedules) for their kids to have classes. We got there in the end so now I am very busy with teaching and lesson prep but it gave me an insight into Spanish lives that I probably would never have know about otherwise.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

thrax said:


> Most, if not all, of the Spanish kids I teach (English as a second language) have very active lives after school with many activities arranged for them by their parents, such as music lessons, English, football, dancing - they seem to do so much. As an ice-breaker question for new classes, 'What is your favourite TV show?', it is interesting to note that very few of them watch TV at all. Mind you, Spanish TV at its best is at about the same level as US or Aussie TV, so perhaps it's not surprising they don't watch much. My teaching partner and me had a strange couple of weeks in September when we had around 20 Mums (and one Dad) all vying for our time as an English teacher for their kids, all of them fighting amongst themselves as they tried to juggle all the other activities and find time (in _our_ busy schedules) for their kids to have classes. We got there in the end so now I am very busy with teaching and lesson prep but it gave me an insight into Spanish lives that I probably would never have know about otherwise.


I think there's a certain difference in attitude. 
Where I live the activities are seen as "opportunities", which indeed they are - within reason, and a missed activity is a missed opportunity, so you're actually failing your child if s/he doesn't do as many after school activities as humanly possible. When I taught after school English some of the kids were just too damned tired to do anything useful. It was a baby sitting service at times (see next point) OK, it's possible that this happens in the UK too, but I'm not used to it in my family. The idea of being at home and just being together doesn't seem very popular for all we have said about the Spanish being family orientated.
AND the other very important thing is The Spanish Working Timetable. Many families that I know have their children in so many activities 'cos they're just not at home to look after their children. Their interest has little to do with Pedro learning English or not, and more to do with WTF do I do with Pedro if he doesn't get in to English at 5 -6, merienda in the classroom from 6:00 to 6:30 and swimming from 6:30 to 7:30. Then 30 mins of homework in the library when I can go and pick him up... 
It is NOT so far fetched!!


----------



## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I think there's a certain difference in attitude.
> Where I live the activities are seen as "opportunities", which indeed they are - within reason, and a missed activity is a missed opportunity, so you're actually failing your child if s/he doesn't do as many after school activities as humanly possible. When I taught after school English some of the kids were just too damned tired to do anything useful. It was a baby sitting service at times (see next point) OK, it's possible that this happens in the UK too, but I'm not used to it in my family. The idea of being at home and just being together doesn't seem very popular for all we have said about the Spanish being family orientated.
> AND the other very important thing is The Spanish Working Timetable. Many families that I know have their children in so many activities 'cos they're just not at home to look after their children. Their interest has little to do with Pedro learning English or not, and more to do with WTF do I do with Pedro if he doesn't get in to English at 5 -6, merienda in the classroom from 6:00 to 6:30 and swimming from 6:30 to 7:30. Then 30 mins of homework in the library when I can go and pick him up...
> It is NOT so far fetched!!


Well that is certainly true for some of the parents of the kids I teach but for most, their mothers don't seem to work (with one exception, a mum who teaches biology to Spanish kids whilst I am teaching English to hers). She charges the same as I do so we should cut out the middle man.....


----------

