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Living abroad with teenagers


INTER-COMMUNITY SCHOOL ZURICH.


hose of us who choose to live overseas often worry about how much of an impact raising our children away from their parents’ home culture will have on them and their future lives. However, a great deal of research into expatriate children has shown that there are many advantages to raising a child internationally.


T


Children from expatriate families have been called ‘third-culture kids’. David C Pollock, one of the key researchers in this area, offers the following definition: “A third-culture kid is an individual who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years in a culture other than that of the parents, resulting in integration of elements from both the host culture and parental culture into a third culture.”


BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES


Researchers have identified some important characteristics that third-culture kids share. For example, they are often able to develop friendships quickly and at a deeper level, because they have had to do so with each move. They are


self-confident, possessing flexibility,


adaptability and often a high degree of independence. They often become innovators and leaders. In addition, teenagers may exhibit higher levels of maturity than their home-based counterparts. Importantly, they also develop the ability to move between cultures, through their linguistic skills and their cross-cultural awareness. They develop what David C Pollock calls a “three-dimensional world view” because it includes not only knowledge but also understanding and empathy. Pollock says, “The sense of security in getting around in the world and acting appropriately in it is significant preparation. The person can become a cultural bridge and an active, positive influence in an increasingly intercultural world.”


So there are many powerful benefits that come from living


internationally, but there are some challenges. For example, during the adolescent years, young people are working out their identities, distinct from their parents, and friends and peers become central to their lives. Since many teenagers at this stage of development feel emotions intensely, the kinds of disruption – to social life, sense of stability, and so on – that they experience during moving can put a great deal of stress on them and their families.


The research into third-culture kids gives us some strategies for dealing with the impacts of such transitions. The first point to emphasise is how central the family is to the well-being and sense of stability of third-culture children. For third-culture kids, relationships are more important than geography, and their families become extremely important in providing a centre to their lives.


32 | relocateglobal.com | Keep Informed


OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES


LIVING OVERSEAS, AWAY FROM OUR HOME CULTURE, EXTENDED FAMILY, NETWORKS OF FRIENDS AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS, PRESENTS BOTH A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES AND SOME SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES,


ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS, SAYS GIL WOODLEY, OF THE


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