Go forth and multiply

professional ambitions, enjoying two i ncomes to meet the material asp irations of new migrants - alJ these factors seem to cement their starns i.n dieir new home

0ne of the important challenges facin g a number of Indian Austtalian couples is how to plan for the growth of their fa mily. Whil e reunions w ith pa rents and siblings are often depende nt on the current rules of the Department of Immigratio n , it is the cha ll enge of having their own children that becomes a pare of personal a nd so cial group discussions for )' Oung couples of a certai n age group

In recent years, the number of 457 visa ho lders and Indian stude n ts h as increased substantiall y. O v er a period of time, man y dec id e to apply for Au stralian permanent reside n cy and look forward to the ir future down under. They also ger married, and the young co upl e scare their new life together. After a shore struggle of finding the right job, botb of them settle into a stable career and begin to e n jo y an i ndependent li festyle. With no famil y pressures and social expectations , the fami ly uni t consisting of two becomes more adoptive of the local lifesty le. Late night get- togetliers widi friends, the freedom to travel,

But the biological clock stares ticking. Whi.le a log ical next step in die couple's li fe, the decision co start a fa mil y is approached with a fair degree of trepid ation as there i s lim i ted, i f a n y, fa mily support availabl e Whereas die earlier freedom fro m family responsib ili ty was a pos itive in t h eir minds, now tbe very lack of it weighs heavil y on the yo un g couple. While the pregnancy i s p lanned and commenced, parents are imported from India to assist Most international parents willingly arrive a few wee k s before the birth t o help with the nursin g of their in ternatio n al grandchild Ir is a trying, yec happy ti.me as rbc young couple now become a family and settle into the ir new routine

After a while, the parents return to India and the husband rentrns to work The pressure on tlie famil y budget in creases as a double i ncome become s a si n gle. As the pressure oo the famil y u nit becomes apparent, so does the challenge of hav in g the second child.

IncLia averages about 2.6 chi ldren per fa mil y In Australia on the other hand, fami lies w ithout children arc projected as the fastest growing famil y type ~1igrant families, wbjje be lieving in stro n g family units, /i nd themselves in a quandary The dilemma is wheclier co adapt to the Austra lian an d personal lifestyle requirements and stop at one child, or look at extending the family unit from two to three or four. \Xlhile th is is a very personal issue and should be respected with persona l h ealth as anocl1er consideration, often cl1e chalJenges of bringing up a large famil)' d o get managed w ith time. J ust as new experiences of the mig rant are perceived as road bumps on the journey, so are tlie challenges faced in the earlier years of bringing up a young family. There a1:e wonderfol options available such as childcare, mothers g roups, Aexible maternity arrangements tl1rough work , whe re some of these chaUenges can be resolved.

Over a longer term, the children will have each oth er to grow u p w ith and as the parents gee older in their new home, die s ibli n gs will have each other as family and of course, in due comse as extended famil y \Y/c Indian Australian s arc very family oriented and often draw our strengclis from our famil y units Of c o urse for the reaJJ y brave, one can fo JJow the advice of the former Australian treasurer Peter Cos tello and have three ch ild ren - one for the mother, o n e for the father and one for the countr y! The choice is rotaJJy yours.

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