Australia is the best country to bring up children | 14 Apr 2010

With its beaches, outdoor lifestyle and friendly schools, Australia provides the best environment for healthy and active children, the study found.

Not only do more than three quarters of expat children spend more time outdoors than in their own country, but they also integrate into new school environments and make friends more easily.

Conversely, parents saw Britain and the US on the whole as less healthy places to live, with children prone to spend more time in front of the computer or watching TV.

The survey targeted over 3100 expatriates living and working in 50 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Locations were rated for their quality of education, ease of integration, time spent on outdoor activities, childcare and costs of raising children.

Interestingly, most expat parents believed their children benefited from living in a foreign country.

Overall, Singapore came second, followed by Hong Kong, the UAE, the United States and Britain

Here are some of the findings from the survey below:

Healthier lifestyles

According to the Offshore Offspring report, Australia provides the best environment for healthy and active children. Seventy-eight per cent spend more time outdoors than in their home country and almost as many have increased the amount of time playing sport (68% compared to 44% globally). They watch a third less television and the majority (59%) eat less junk food than they did before.

The research also found that, compared to their home country:

• Almost half (47%) of expat children in the US eat more junk food
• Forty-four per cent spend more time watching television in the US
• Forty-two per cent spend less time outdoors in the US
• Just a quarter (24%) of expat children in the UK spend more time outdoors

Adapting to a new environment

Australia tops the list in terms of expat kids making new friends (83%) and adapting to the schooling system (76%) more easily than they did in their home country. Over half of respondents in Australia (56%) said that their children had adapted ‘really well’ to the new culture and almost two-thirds (63%) said that their childrens’ overall level of social integration had increased upon moving here.

Of the six countries, Australia offers the most family-friendly environment with nearly half of respondents (48%) reporting that the quality of their family life has increased, compared with 32 per cent globally.

Three-quarters (75%) of expats in Australia also said they felt the safety of their children had increased since moving abroad.

The research also found:

• Most likely to integrate into their new culture were expat children in the UK with 83 per cent adapting ‘well’ or ‘really well’
• In Singapore, almost two-thirds (65%) of expat kids found it easier to make new friends
• Ninety-three per cent of Singaporean parents felt their children’s safety improved since they moved to the country, compared to 64 per cent more broadly
• Expats in the UK are the most likely to feel their children’s safety had decreased

Costs of raising kids abroad

Forty-seven per cent of expat parents said childcare was more expensive in Australia (compared to 25% globally) and that the cost of social activities increased (65% compared to 45% globally). However, expat parents here are less likely to see an increase in education costs – while half (53%) of respondents said they had experienced an increase but this was much lower than the global average of 75 per cent. Overall,

Australia was the cheapest place for expats to raise kids.

The research also found:

• The cost of raising children in the UK is the highest – 84 per cent of expat parents agree that the overall cost of raising children is higher in the UK than in their home country
• Ninety-one per cent of expatriate parents in Hong Kong reported an increase in the cost of education compared with 75 per cent globally

The survey also found that Australia had the largest proportion of expat parents who felt their quality of family life was improved by the move.