Are you concerned about how your little ones will adjust to constantly moving around the world? I’ve got you, as an expat child myself at age 15, I’ve already lived in three different countries and therefore have lots of experience when it comes to moving around and transferring schools. To make you feel more at ease about moving around the world with kids we’ve written together a little guide on what to take into consideration.
First of all, the most important thing to understand is that all children react differently to a complete environment switch. While some might find it easy to adapt to a new school system but struggle with adapting socially, others might struggle to adapt to a new school system but find it easy to find a new close social circle.
Before moving, you should think about some sit-down situation where you talk your kid through the process of moving and especially how they feel about it. My parents did this with both me and my sister and it was immensely helpful, since your child will be able to understand and process the move without being put under pressure.
Let them ask as many questions as they need and make sure they feel comfortable talking to you about their concerns. Most of the time, your family is the only circle your child is going to have when moving so make sure you all have a stable and open relationship.
When moving, you should definitely give your child some time and space to adjust themselves. Leaving your friends, your home and your school is typically always going to be hard so don’t add unnecessary pressure on them with grades, extracurriculars, and so on.
When it comes to integrating into a new school system there will be some sort of struggle in most cases. Many children find it difficult to switch school system, since often the curriculums vary from country to country.
If you realize there has been a downward trend in your child’s grades, which is completely normal, you can help them by hiring a tutor. Most international schools even account for cases like this and offer tutoring for children who come from different school systems.
For some students, especially those who are close to graduating, it might be an option to hold them back for one year. While at the beginning this might seem a bit dramatic, many parents do this to ensure their child has time to integrate into the school before having to deal with graduating. Before making such a drastic decision, it’s important to make sure this is both what you and your child think to be best.
Otherwise, there’s a chance that your kid will struggle to find a spot at their new school socially. If you do recognize this struggle, it can be helpful to enroll your child in some type of extracurricular activity, to help them find people with similar interests. However, do not pressure. In this case, it’s rather important to have an open ear for your child. Do not be too concerned. Most international schools are filled with expat children who are always ready to accept new friends into their circle since they had to experience similar struggles themselves.
I myself along with many of my friends experienced trouble especially when moving during our teen years. When you hit puberty, you’re going through so many changes already, school is getting harder, and peer groups are changing. Your children’s teenage years can often be the time they feel most alone so having friends you can rely on is incredibly important. Additionally, your teenage years can often be the time you feel most insecure, and adding more drastic changes, like moving, to all that’s already going on can feel pretty overwhelming for your child.
The only thing you can really do to make your child feel more at ease is to have an open ear for them, but never pressure them to talk. The best thing to do in a situation like this is to make them feel accepted and show them that their feelings are valid and that they’re seen.
Something to keep in mind when choosing schools is the switch back to your home country. To avoid issues when switching back, you should consider picking a school that has a similar school system as the ones in your home country. For example, when moving to China, my parents and I chose the German Embassy School to assure mine and my sister’s transition back to Germany would be as smooth as possible.
While all of this might seem pretty overwhelming, especially as a parent, who wants only the best for their child, most of the time it all settles by itself. The positives a child takes away from an expat experience definitely outweigh the negatives. By experiencing so many special things as a young child, they will have a broader perspective of the world, possibly even speak several languages and they will become incredibly adaptable to new environments and people. Moving around the world with your child is the best gift you could ever give them, even if it might not seem like it for them at the beginning.
Images: Charly Kutscher, Pexels
