# Typical day in life of expat child



## Carol&Family (Jun 6, 2011)

Hello
Our family is considering move to Dubai. One of most important factors for me is quality of life for our young children (after their safety!). I am keen to hear of any experiences of what day-to-day life might be like for our kids?
A bit of our background: We have 2 boys: 5 and 2 years old. The older boy would be attending school in Dubai - Stage 1 in 2011/12. We are hoping to move in time for the new school year in September this year.
I will be working part-time: 3 days a week. On those days the 2-year-old would be at nursery.
More questions;
- do expat kids have to endure long days? early starts with parents off to work and waiting for parents to come back at the end of the day from long commutes?
- what is after school care like (I guess I would be home late after commute)?
- is it the norm to have a nanny to look after kids after school?
- what is a typical weekend like for the kids - living in airconditioned shopping malls? mixing with other expat kids?
Any insights to kids lifestyle would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Carol.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Depends on how you are as a parent I guess. It's easy for kids to adapt too well to the lifestyle and become insufferable little scrotes full of their own self-importance. If you can keep them grounded, then you could be fine.

The best way of gauging how you are as a parent is answering one question:

Would you allow your child to go out in public wearing those trainers with wheels built into the soles?

If the answer is yes, you are a terrible parent and your child is worse than Hitler.

If the answer is no, then you're not a terrible parent and your kid will probably turn out to be fine but probably worth giving them a few digs to the ribs if they have a tantrum about it to be on the safe side.


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## Confiture (Jan 9, 2011)

Hi Carol, 

We have two boys - 3 and 6.

Safety really is not a concern, or at least our experience is that Dubai is one of the safer cities.

School is from around 07:30 to 12:30 / 2pm depending on their age, but most schools have after school activities and the school bus services are pretty good.

Their quality of life outside of school will be dependent on a number of factors, not least the proximity of your residence to those of other children in the same school, or at least age group.

Best advice to give would be to find a school with availability (no mean feat!) then look at the areas nearby where you might want to live.

There are a number of posts giving first hand information about most of the residential areas so you can at least get a basic idea of what's in each one.

Good luck!


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## ash_ak (Jan 22, 2011)

Gavtek said:


> Depends on how you are as a parent I guess. It's easy for kids to adapt too well to the lifestyle and become insufferable little scrotes full of their own self-importance. If you can keep them grounded, then you could be fine.
> 
> The best way of gauging how you are as a parent is answering one question:
> 
> ...


Your reply doesnt make any sense at all...do you have kids?


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## sandypool (Sep 12, 2009)

Gavtek's post makes perfect sense if you've ever had a child on wheels headbut you at Dubai mall or the airport....


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

sandypool said:


> Gavtek's post makes perfect sense if you've ever had a child on wheels headbut you at Dubai mall or the airport....


I agree!!! 

It all goes down to the parents I guess. I´ve seen both extremes in Dubai, kids who are perfectly normal, polite, reasonable and respect boundaries, and little monsters who clearly are allowed to do whatever they want, including kicking their own father in his erm, delicate parts. Yes, I saw that, Mall of Emirates. Hilarious but just an example of how they can turn into horrible little people with the 'help' of their parents.

:focus:


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## neilrock (May 7, 2011)

Oh please don't tell me that they have Chav scum in Dubai!! I thought it was a purely English council estate thing...

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

The best parents that take their toddlers to Carre Four at 11 pm and give them drinks that are probably banned in most other countries. There's far too much of a cotton wool society going on these days and it's good to see people take a stand.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

sandypool said:


> Gavtek's post makes perfect sense if you've ever had a child on wheels headbut you at Dubai mall or the airport....


Geant. It's always Geant. And it's always me that gets the dirty look when their little darling smashes headfirst into my trolley as if I've done it on purpose. While I do actually aim for them with my trolley, the parents don't know that!


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## Carol&Family (Jun 6, 2011)

Hi Confiture
Thanks for your reply.
This might sound really daft, but what is a typical day like for your older boy, broken down like;
7:00 school bus pick up
7:30 - 2:00 school
etc.
Just keen to get a good understanding.
Also - what do you normally do on weekends with kids?
Carol




Confiture said:


> Hi Carol,
> 
> We have two boys - 3 and 6.
> 
> ...


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## susblnc (May 14, 2011)

Hi all,

We will be moving to Dubai at the beginning of August. I have primary school age children. I would also be interested in finding out what it is like for kids. I will be working and my kids will finish school 2-3 hours before I finish. How hard is it to find good day care/after school care that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

Any info would be appreciated.


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

I agree with Gavtek, Mr. Rossi and Dizzyizzy. It all depends on how much time and effort you are willing to spend after your long and stressful day at work to ensure that your kid remains grounded and normal.
Kids in Dubai are terribly spoilt mainly because their parents work all day and then socialise every evening. So they compensate the lack of attention provided to the kids by buying them big expensive toys to keep them busy. I've seen kids in my neighbourhood kick and punch their nannies all the time and throw all sorts of tantrums.
I would recommend you move to a neighbourhood where there are lots of children the same age as your kids so that they can brush up on their social skills. The only indoor play area that I really like and the one that my son goes to is "Favourite Things" at Dubai Marina Mall. Your kids unfortunately will be confined to indoor play areas at least until October after which there's plenty to do outdoors - beach, parks, Dubai Shopping Festival which has carnival type rides, etc.
Hope this helps


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