Parenting expat kids

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For third culture kids answering the question “where are you from” is not so simple. For the children of expats this explanation can take embarrassingly too long and cause some anxiety. Should the answer be one of nationality, where one was born, where one lives presently? Even where ones parents are from?

 

It was American sociologist Ruth Useem who in the 1950’s first coined the term third culture kid (TCK). She was studying the children of Americans living and working in India. The term was conceived to describe expatriate children who spend their formative years outside of their home country. They are shaped by the multicultural, nomadic spheres of their parents, many of whom are diplomats, military members or working for major multinational corporations. What she observed more than half a century ago rings true today still. Third culture kids are a globe spanning, diverse and highly adaptable lot.

 

As expat parents many of us find ourselves in the position of raising third culture kids. Even if we have recently moved abroad, the transition from “regular” kid to TCK happens faster than your shipping container might arrive. There are a few fail proof signs to determine if you are dealing with a third culture child. 1) The child’s accent changes depending on who they are talking too, 2) Even young children are very, very good a calculating time differences and flight durations 3) They pick up multi-language curse words before they can pass grade five spelling, 4) They know how the McDonald’s menu varies drastically from country to country. 5) They can convert the price of any toy to least two different currencies in an instant. There is a certain sparkle and fascination when it comes to this group, those with the well stamped passports and perfect recall of the best airport lounge food offerings.

 

With the exception this past year due to Covid-19, expat families find themselves relocating frequently to locations that reach even the most remote corners of the globe. Children often transfer from one international school to the next every three to five years. They are exposed to communities populated by peers from dozens of nations with a melting pot of languages, customs and traditions that blend together. From this eclectic realm the concept of the “third” culture is born.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/love-and-relationship/parenting-expat-kids/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand 2021-05-28

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As a person, who growing up with a parent in the military, lived in multiple states in the U.S., had friends that lived in different countries of the world, went to school with kids that lived in different countries of the world, that does not sound too much like the "expat" kids I grew up with.

This part is pretty true; " They typically are better equipped to deal with newness and change. They have to hone these skills to thrive, after all."   

Making new friends was quick and easy.  Homesick, nope.  Hated leaving the old place, nope.  Accepting of people of different ethnicities and cultures, yes, unless you were an a-hole.  And there were a-holes everywhere!

Also, learned to see through B.S. real quick.  Unless that is just me.