You Know You Have an Inner West Child When …

Now and then, a post within Inner West Mums gets everyone talking. This week, it was Kristy Wellfare Jones’ prompt: ‘You know you have an Inner West child when …’
Following is an edited selection of our favourite responses. Is your child a true Inner Westie?

1. They ask, as you leave the house, ‘Cino first, Mum?’
2. Their local barista has known them since they were three days old.
3. They have their own Keep Cup.
4. They ask for their marshmallow ‘on the side’.
5. They get annoyed that they have to settle for a salted caramel milkshake when they really wanted a strawberry balsamic one.
6. They insist on drinking their milk in a jam jar.
7. They won’t eat their avocado without feta and a perfectly poached egg.
8. They scream for a ‘green drink’, made of kale, cucumber and apple.
9. They sample everything at the deli.
10. They have a well-defined ranking for every Vietnamese restaurant in Marrickville. (Kristen McKinstry)
11. They ask to go out to The Henson for dinner. (Dolores Dunn)
12. They ask you what this week’s Zonut is from Zumbo. (Zoe Vayanos)
13. Their first word is plane.
14. Their first sentence is ‘It’s an A380.’
15. The sound of a plane doesn’t faze them, but they freak out when they hear a lawnmower.
16. They can spot a parking space at 50 metres. (Helena Tosello)
17. They have twice as many toys as you have storage space. (Kristen McKinstry)
18. They ask you what a garage is. (Kristen McKinstry)
19. They dream of having part-time jobs at Cow and Moon and Rocketboy. (Dolores Dunn)
20. They dream of making lots of money so they can buy a house – with grass!
21. They pretend they are operating a cafe, called Black Star.
22. They play ‘traffic jams’.
23. They play ‘tattoo parlours’.
24. They expect high-quality parks.
25. They sing ‘Old Macdonald had a worm farm … With a mulch, mulch here, and a recycle recycle there …’.
26. They think Princesses Ana and Elsa live in Annandale. (Lauren Hamilton-Thompson)
27. They think a day in the Blue Mountains is a holiday.
28. When asked which overseas countries they have visited, they include Manly. (Dawn Yee Tuften)
29. Their friends at day care are named Aya, Ayla, Isla, Leila and Ada.
30. They teach you the yoga poses they learnt at day care. (Melissa Turkington)
31. Both mother and child wear Saltwater Sandals. (Alix Fiveash)
32. They cry because they want two mums like all their friends at day care. (Nadia Vigna)
33. They give death stares to the people manning the West Connex information stand at the shopping centre.
34. They declare they are becoming vegan for compassionate and environmental reasons.
35. They want blue hair.
36. They understand why fair trade is important by 11. (Michelle A Cummings)
37. They walk into a suburban backyard and say ‘Oh, a park.’ (Kate Bower)

If you enjoyed this article you’ll love Ginny’s most recent work:
The Game-Changer
Cookie Cutter Kids: How can we teach our children to celebrate diversity?
Running in Circles
Allergies: What’s all the fuss about?
The Early Days
Not water – Tears
No Judgements, Please
Triumph or Trauma
Riding the Merry go Round
Friends, Near or Far
When is Enough, Enough?
My (Child’s) Kitchen Rules
 
Photo credit to Bar Contessa

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