You’ve made the decision – you’re going, leaving home and setting up home elsewhere for a while. You’re excited and so are the children. I’ve often heard it said that children are the “people magnets” of assignments abroad – that having children with you makes it so much easier to make new acquaintances and get involved locally. It is also said that accompanying children often make or break the success of an assignment.
Moving abroad is daunting enough – ensuring that your children are happy, is half the battle won. Here are my Top Ten Tips for moving abroad with children:
1. Make them feel they are part of the decision – ask how they feel and talk about the new venture rather than passing on the information.
2. Talk about keeping in touch with friends while abroad and make some suggestions about how modern technology can help things along.
3. Make the pending venture visual – simple books, video clips or films bring the new country to life. You could even cook something special from the country of your destination.
4. If you are not relocating your entire household, let children choose their favourite things and take these along – nothing is quite as comforting in a strange place as curling up under your own duvet.
5. Difficulty with a new language is stressful for children. Make language learning a family affair and start practising a few words or common phrases in advance.
6. Get online before you leave – most countries have sites for “parents away from home”. Get onto these to engage with parents that have “been there and done that” and can offer valuable tips.
7. Go online when you arrive – connect with parents from all over the world who are in the same boat and start gathering and exchanging information.
8. Ask as many questions as you have to get the best schooling for your children. School abroad if often very different from school back home and this is where your children will spend most of their waking hours.
9. Encourage your children to make local friends and to invite them home, e.g. to a birthday party. This could be a themed event linked to your nationality that other children may find exciting.
10. Don’t forget that your children will most likely be returning home after a specific period. Talk about current events and developments.
Published by Panoma Press, Expat the Easy Way - live and work successfully wherever you are