u/theobviousanswers

Dude what? Russia is conscripting men and prosecuting defectors, including rounding up suspected defectors off the street and immediately deploying them  .

https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/russia/russia1102.htm

Russia is also kidnapping Ukrainian children https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-commission-concludes-deportation-and-forcible-transfer-ukrainian-children

https://2021-2025.state.gov/the-kremlins-war-against-ukraines-children/

Not to open a can of worms mentioning Bondi, but people (presumably on the opposite side of politics) were saying “wait and see” about the motive  in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi massacre despite the whole Jewish festival thing being pretty damn telling.

My 3 year old would get repeatedly corrected for engaging quietly but imaginatively with “the work” in an accredited Montessori classroom.

I pulled her out of there.

Lol your comment sounds a Chinese bot-level loyalty to the party. You can confirm- are you a caucus member? 

Of course there’s some tension- the economy feels pretty fucked. Chalmers and Albo are visibly not on exactly the same message. Even if it’s all trump’s fault, it’d still be bloody stressful.

I am not a Montessori specialist, just a parent with an interest, but my 3 year old adores costumes, Dr sets etc, and also loves re-acting out real situations but with an element of pretend (“mummy, I’m the mumma, you’re the bubba, you’re scared” then she comforts me etc). It seems to be very developmental- she’s pushed this and gravitated towards it (ignoring all the toys at a shop for a costume etc) and it just feels very wrong to me to discourage it. Pretend play seems to be doing a whole lot of heavy lifting in terms of maturing and growing at this stage.

This woman has eaten chiko rolls from a stranger- she is one of us and free to appropriate whatever she likes

lol do you mean chiko roll? That is very sweet and hilarious she felt the need to pass on our retro deep fried really kinda disgusting food to you! I didn’t even know they made them any more (were an absolute 90s staple)

Weather dependent but I adore watching sunset in South Head Watson’s Bay- you could do Watson bay on your last day, walk around the tiny national park late afternoon (Gap view) and find a spot where you can see both out to the Pacific Ocean and down the harbour at sunset. Lots of nice dinner and drinks options after then ferry back to Circular Quay.

Not OP but I adore watching sunset in South Head Watson’s Bay- get there early to walk around the tiny national park by day and find a spot where you can see both out to the Pacific Ocean and down the harbour at sunset. You can get a ferry then walk up the hill. Camp cove very cute to walk around while you’re there as well.

Sydney for sure. Taronga zoo is really great- you get world class harbour views , cute ferry trip, AND kangaroos and koalas. The zoo has good ethical/conservation credentials.

Sydney has a bunch of swimming, hiking, nature spots accessible by public transport. 

As in will you get held up at knife or gunpoint for your jewellery in Australia? No, that would be exceedingly unlikely.

Was going to dm you but not sure I can- yes but it’s not Bondi, Balmain or anywhere north if that’s what you were thinking of.

You can’t go wrong with either of these. Everywhere feels similarly busy, like you’re not getting the place to yourself, but they’re not overwhelmingly busy- nothing on Yosemite in Summer holidays or something. Definitely book well, well ahead though.

As others have said Broome feels a bit more like a tourist town, where as Darwin feels like a tiny city with some tourists. Eating out is way better in Darwin- incredible choices of cheap and cheerful various Asian cuisines. Darwin has more fun events on that time of year. Darwin has the deckchair cinema, Broome has their outdoor cinema (oldest in the world apparently). 

I’d rate Kimberley slightly higher than Kakadu but don’t make me choose!  But Kakadu plus Litchfield plus upper Edith falls near Katherine in the afternoon (so the sun hits the falls) is absolutely incredible.

If you do go to Kununurra don’t miss Lake Argyle for a night or two. The infinity pool may be a bit of a bogan gimmick, but it’s inarguably so so beautiful.  

Being in Purnululu NP for the eclipse would be pretty incredible- it feels like a very special, unusual place. The crowds should be very under control too because I’m pretty certain the campsite/small lodge have to be pre-booked? They’re all fairly small so even full it couldn’t get too busy. The road in is proper 4wd-ing.

If it gets the full eclipse another option to see it could be Wolfe Creek Meteor site camp spot? Not taking the piss- it is called that and it is quite spectacular. It’s a couple of 100ks detour off the main highway, easy 4wd/Awd. Huge ancient meteor hole in otherwise expansive flat low shrubby desert, beautiful white ghost gums at the campsite. Not sure you can book ahead though so may be best to book Purnululu for the eclipse if you can. .

Colour coded by task! Do not wipe up orange juice with a clean green towel- that’s for wiping down the snack table…

This comment section has been so helpful! Reddit being Reddit I was scared a bunch of traditionalists would “well actually” me for doily sketicism!

What age should “true Montessori” in a classroom start though in a best case scenario? As soon as toilet trained (with that process being started as early a possible)..?

Here in Australia the accredited programs advocate that children can benefit from Montessori instruction from very early on, but it should be in the presence of parents (with some guidance directly to parents about Montessori methods) rather than young children being separated from their attachment figure/s in a group care setting until about 3 (when children tend to become more genuinely social/independent and better capable of navigating group care).

No idea if that comes from Maria Montessori herself or has been taken from attachment parenting type philosophies being melded into Montessori or has just emerged here cos of the way preschools are funded in Australia..?

Totally get what you’re saying, but this place has run for 40 years as a not-for-profit with really reasonable fees and all guides have done the full Montessori training. It all seemed so delightful that I was really hopeful it’d be somewhere my child would be happy!

It does seem to have big rigidity problems, but profit/money isn’t even the issue in this case.

I’m in Australia where preschool and daycare are quite different (maybe not the case elsewhere?) and are even funded (government subsidised) completely separately. Daycare 0-5 year olds (usually long days), preschool short days 3-5 years old. 

There also seems to be the belief here that children can benefit from Montessori instruction from very early on, but it should be guidance rather than being separated from their attachment figure/s in a group care setting until about 3. No idea if that comes from Maria Montessori herself or not?

So the accredited Montessori schools generally run parent-child sessions with guides (in a Montessori classroom for about 3 hours once or twice a week) for 0-3 years old (separated for babies and toddlers), then short day preschool classes with no parents (other than observation) from 3 years old.

(Of course there’s also a bunch of daycares that use the name with varying degrees of fidelity.)

(Deleted the other multiple posts- sorry my internet was being glitchy)

What do you mean by worth it? It’s not a particularly convenient or comfortable way to travel, but yes it is cheaper than other options if you use the pass a lot. 

I’ve taken the greyhound a few times from Darwin to Alice Springs (about 1500ks each way) and they’re fine.

Litchfield is stunning but very waterfall-heavy. They’re tropical waterfalls though where you swim in warm water (they get checked for crocodiles and closed if detected), quite different to Switzerland. I never actually saw much actual wildlife on my many trips to Litchfield it’s quite hidden in dense bush, but the bushwalks are lovely nevertheless.

Darwin is an interesting city and I would seriously consider just doing 2 nights in Litchfield to have an extra night in Darwin. You can do a lot of nature-y things within Darwin itself. Definitely be somewhere to view the sunset. Options include Berry Springs (could also stop on the way to Litchfield), sunset walk down Nightcliff esplanade including the jetty and dinner at a food truck with water views, walk around Lee point, commuter ferry to Cox Country club (a free shuttle will pick you up from the ferry wharf, it’s just a shack under a stunning old tree), NT museum is great, coffee in the cute cafe in the botanic gardens, swim at the waterfront then go see a movie at the incredible deckchair cinema (catering by a great local restaurant each night so you can have  dinner there too).

Edit: your best option to see wildlife in the wild on the NT part of the journey is the yellow river cruise. They try to spruik the sunrise one but the sunset one is also incredible to see crocs, dozens of different bird species, and potentially feral buffalo.

Lyne Park Playground Rose bay (get the ferry there) then lunch or dinner at The Field at easts rugby rose bay (just pub food but ridiculously kid friendly venue, walking distance from ferry). 

This is great advice and I assume you are only getting downvoted by people who only know about Alice Springs from Today Tonight.

Alice is dangerous as fuck if you are married to a man prone to domestic violence, or wander the streets at night. As a tourist taking basic precautions it’s safer than most of the world and a gateway to an incredible holiday.

Papas Patisserie in fivedock (I’m not sure the other Papas stock them) do wog-y marzipan-y versions of this which are cute and yum.