Subjecting your kids to the expat way of living can be a huge decision; possibly one of the biggest and toughest decisions you will ever make. It doesn’t matter if you are relocating for work reasons, or to get a better quality of life, or to be nearer loved ones; committing to this change when you have young ones can pose a lot of questions and a lot of challenges. That is because you are going to have to prepare your children for a huge change that you, yourself may not be prepared for.
However, it is possible to make it work for your kids, and you. It is just a matter of knowing how.
The First Step
Relocation is like on holiday. It can’t be done on a whim or a spontaneous desire to catch some sun. No. Relocation demands a serious amount of planning, typically around six months worth of planning. But the more you put in the easier it will be to adapt and settle. As such, we recommend you palm as much of the stress as you can onto external services. For example, when it comes to the physical move, we recommend you use international removalists like Chess Moving. This way you will be able to focus your attention on more important aspects, such as touching base with members of the expat community in your desired location, selecting schools, discussing how long you plan to move for and all of that sort of stuff. As a little tip, your child may hate the move, so always allow them the chance and time to mourn their old lives. To you it may just be a move and you’ll make friends, but for then this is the biggest disruption imaginable.
The Education Side Of things
Research has shown that children up to the ages of seven and eight make friends far quicker than older children. What’s more, they have an ability to pick up languages fast as well, much faster that say a 9-year-old, who may feel isolated because of the move. So the age of your children should be considered and should be a big part of your decision in which school to choose. As such, help them through the whole process. Seek out families with children the same age who have been through that big change and may be able to help. Learn about the different curriculums on offer. Find out what counseling may be on offer for kids over the age of thirteen, who will struggle a lot more than younger children.
The Role Of The Parent
It is going to be up to you to make the transition as smooth as possible, and that means holding onto some of the cultures you have left behind. Your children will be hit with a new culture, sometimes one that is completely different to the one they grew up with. As such, have nights where you eat Mac n’ Cheese and encourage them to watch American films and TV shows, and get books in English for them to read. They will become children of two cultures, but make this a less daunting prospect by keeping their original culture alive.
Disclosure: this is a collaborative post, all opinions are my own.
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