Catching the Magic

Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Blasts from the past
  • Country Kids
  • Motherhood
  • Poetry
    • 2011 Poetry
    • 2012 Poetry
    • 2013 Poetry
    • 2014 Poetry
    • 2015 Poetry
    • 2016 Poetry
    • 2017-2018 Poetry
  • Travel
    • Auckland
    • Fiordland
    • Kapiti Coast
    • Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough & Canterbury
    • Otago, Queenstown, Wanaka & Southern Lakes
    • Taupo, Rotorua & Tongariro National Park
    • Wairarapa
    • Byron Bay and the Gold Coast (2005 and 2016)
    • Californian Adventures, 2013-14
    • Canada, Dec. 2018
    • Cook Islands
    • Copenhagen, July & August 2014
    • Japan
    • Singapore
    • Sydney
    • UK Visits from 2014 to 2022
    • England via Santa Barbara & San Francisco, 2012
    • England via San Francisco – July 2007
    • NZ to UK, with our 9 month old, 2004
  • Running
  • Special Days
Menu

Peer Pressure at Four

Posted on November 15, 2007November 28, 2009 by BritMumInNZ

I never thought I’d have to have this ‘chat’ with Charlotte so early, but sadly it starts young. Of course ‘peer pressure’ is both good and bad. The populace of Charlotte’s Kindi mirrors society in that mostly it is good, but there are some negative elements also. It only takes the occasional bad ‘ring leader’ to influence the weaker willed to create a major headache for the teachers, parents and children alike. Charlotte’s been talking of some ‘bad boys’ for a while now (not that I’m saying it’s all ‘boys’ on the negative peer pressure spectrum!). We’ve had the talk about different families behaving in other ways and spelling out the behaviour we expect in our own home. Charlotte is now familiar with the term ‘peer pressure’ and understanding it can be both a positive and negative influence. She came home the other day and said, ‘It was a good day today. The ‘ring leader’ wasn’t there.’

Charlotte is enjoying the main of her kindergarten time, but is frustrated with some negative peer influences. I’ve observed the brighter children wandering around looking for more to stretch their minds and watched the staff grappling with their huge responsibility of managing close to forty children (there are three teachers). There is some structured time, but in the main the children are free to drift from one activity to another, working out social interactions in their own way.

She hasn’t made any real ‘friendships’ and still talks of the friends she has made through play-dates from her pre-Kindi days. Sadly, those friends have now left Wellington for futures in other countries. Thankfully, one of her friends from her younger years (what am I saying, she’s only four!) has recently returned from an ‘OE’ (overseas experience) and it’s amazing to see how well they interact with one another. They were born three day’s apart and are both extremely intelligent, creative, sensitive, strong-willed and artistic beings. Unfortunately this renewed friendship looks to be short-lived as this friend, like the others she has been attracted to, is soon to go overseas again.

Charlotte, with her friend, and Sophie:

It’s interesting that Charlotte’s friendships have mirrored our own – in that we tend to drift towards fellow expats, travellers and free-minded spirits.

Charlotte has grown so much since starting Kindergarten, but with it she’s brought home a few negative behaviours, which we’ve had to work through. She’s also had days when she’s fained illness or openly said she’d rather learn at home and I’ve been open to some days of creative learning. It’s so very sad that she’s experiencing this so young, but I’m thankful that she’s strong-willed and not easily influenced to ‘go with the crowd’, though the pressure is already clearly evident. It’s hard as a parent to ‘let go’ and I’m not at all sure how healthy it is to give over easily to an environment that isn’t holistically giving my child all that I would like – but surely that’s a natural feeling for any caring parent, especially of their first child!? It doesn’t help that my natural Aries, Tiger birth sign, doesn’t lend easily to authority and I have a natural inclination to go against anything that doesn’t feel ‘right’ and look for another path!

Related posts

  • Starting Kindergarten!March 8, 2007 Starting Kindergarten!
  • Autumnal delights before winter took hold – living, learning, loving and wondering.June 29, 2016 Autumnal delights before winter took hold – living, learning, loving and wondering.
  • Celebrating 16 Years of Marriage | Magic MomentsJune 10, 2015 Celebrating 16 Years of Marriage | Magic Moments
  • Three daughters, all at school! A VERY new chapter!March 27, 2015 Three daughters, all at school! A VERY new chapter!
  • Outdoor loves from MartinboroughMarch 6, 2015 Outdoor loves from Martinborough
  • Celebrating sisters, over coming anxiety & starting a new school year…January 28, 2015 Celebrating sisters, over coming anxiety & starting a new school year…
Category: Charlotte Sarah

Post navigation

← Clean your teeth, not your bottom Sophie!
Sophie (at 22 months) Rocks the Plunket Nurse! →
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Archives

Recent Posts

  • A holiday in paradise – ten blissful days in Rarotonga, in the beautiful Cook Islands. August 8, 2023
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration August 7, 2023
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon! May 10, 2023
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles! April 4, 2023
  • Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter! March 30, 2023
  • Summer holiday in Rotorua & Taupo March 29, 2023
  • Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington January 12, 2023
  • Summer highlights from the Wairarapa January 8, 2023
  • A long weekend with friends near Goat Island Marine Reserve January 6, 2023
  • It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – southern hemisphere style! December 23, 2022
  • Wellington Lantern Festival – in the spring rain December 18, 2022
  • Toast Martinborough – Wine and Food Festival December 16, 2022

Things I Write About

Art (100) autumn (42) Baking (37) beach (67) Birthday (51) birthday party (31) breastfeeding (29) cafes (46) christmas (70) Country Kids (59) family (115) family time (57) featured (34) friends (38) Garden (43) holiday (36) Holidays (131) Lyall Bay (47) Lyrical Sunday (68) milestones (62) motherhood (37) New Zealand (38) parenting (36) photography (39) poem (69) poetry (92) running (57) Santa Barbara (32) school (75) school holidays (49) seasons (45) Silent Sunday (51) sisters (29) sleep (35) spring (38) summer (60) swimming (28) the gallery (62) Things I'm Loving (118) UK (30) Walks (47) weather (34) Wellington (137) winter (42) writing (50)

Poetry

Follow Sarah's board Poetry by Sarah Lee on Pinterest.
20 Of The Best Expat Blogs To Follow In 2017

Related posts

  • Starting Kindergarten!March 8, 2007 Starting Kindergarten!
  • Autumnal delights before winter took hold – living, learning, loving and wondering.June 29, 2016 Autumnal delights before winter took hold – living, learning, loving and wondering.
  • Celebrating 16 Years of Marriage | Magic MomentsJune 10, 2015 Celebrating 16 Years of Marriage | Magic Moments
  • Three daughters, all at school! A VERY new chapter!March 27, 2015 Three daughters, all at school! A VERY new chapter!
  • Outdoor loves from MartinboroughMarch 6, 2015 Outdoor loves from Martinborough
  • Celebrating sisters, over coming anxiety & starting a new school year…January 28, 2015 Celebrating sisters, over coming anxiety & starting a new school year…
© 2023 Catching the Magic | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme