½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Menu
½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Making it easier on the kids

Post new topic

daileyjoy

This will be our first move overseas. We will be moving to Romania in March or April. We are leaving behind a large and tightknit extended family, even my family is fairly close with my husbands. Needless to say this is kinda hard for our 2 daughters 11 and 6. I am doing everything I can to make this easier for them by allowing them each boxes to be shipped ahead of us, endless phone now and trips to see those who don't live nearby, what I need most is ideas on things that will help them to better cope when we actually move and not resent us for taking them away from the family. So far all I have is photos and journals, I need some help please.
Jennifer

oreneta

We just did this, try to identify what issues are the most important to them...my kids were worried about school and missing Halloween, and they are almost the same age as yours.  We flew back for Halloween, and I promised them that they could be home schooled for the first few months while we settled in.  I enrolled them in jazz dance classes offered by school they are now going to, and they got to meet some of the kids in the school in advance. 

We also went for a giant concession, they were making huge changes in moving, so we made a huge change and agreed to get a dog once we were here.  The idea was that it gave them a friend, and someone to love when they weren't happy with us, and it would give them a way into the community...dog lovers everywhere.

There will definitely be an International Women's club.  They have branches everywhere, contact them now over the internet and talk to some of those ladies about what resources you will have when you get there.  The more the kids know the less strange it will be. 

Plan some exciting things to look forward to, like I don't know, a trip to Disney Paris at Easter break...whatever, so there are good things as well.  Book some family in to come and visit relatively soon after you get there, say a month or two, again something to look forward to.

get Skype. 

Buy lots of books in English now, and save them hidden...then you can bring them out gradually.  We also had what we called Melodie presents...they were a whole bunch of small toys and gifts and crafts, individually wrapped that I hid and pulled out on the down days and the grumpy days.  If you can get each family member to produce a couple, they are a great fall back and connection when things get tough.

get your family to video or tape themselves doing stupid daily things and e-mail it to you..this does kind of contribute to homesickness, but it also keeps you up to date.

Have a computer and good internet access, you can watch looney tunes and all sorts of familiar silliness on line.

They won't hate you, really we've done this to our kids twice now...

fair_havens

We have also just done this 1 1/2 yrs ago.  At the time my oldest was 11, my youngest was 5.  We also have 2 inbetween.  We did the photo albums and let them take their special things.  We did 3 boxes.  One to take to Russia, one to store in Nana's attic and one to throw away.  We were fortunate that our kids beds could be set up at their grandparent's house.  Our girls' set of porcelin dolls are displayed in one of the spare bedrooms.  This seemed to ease their stress of leaving everything behind.  We tried to really look into what we could do in Europe as opposed to what we were "giving up".  I would listen to their complaining but did not contribute to it.  But I also honestly believe we are giving our children a more enriched life by living overseas and that is what I have tried to relay to them as we packed to go. 
We also studied the language.  I wish we had invested in a more expensive language package like Rosetta stone but hind sight is 20/20.  We allowed our kids to get their own email addresses and give them to their friends.  At our going away party, they each had their own address book and a pen that they could collect as many address and email addresses as they could, with a list of ours on paper to give out.
Keep in mind that the first year is the hardest.  We immediately hired a language tutor for the kids and my youngest has a Russian nanny.  There were times when the kids were very depressed and there were tears about wanting to go home.  But getting them connected with local ex-pat kids, getting them involved in public school music classes and allowing them to cry and write and phone home has helped.  We went back to the States at Christmas and my girls said before they left Russia, I am going to miss it here.  They enjoyed their time in the States but were really glad to be "home" when we got back to Russia.  Hang in there it will all be fine!  I have been to the part of Romania you are moving to and it is beautiful!  Enjoy!

sueincyprus

I think you're doing the right thing by acknowledging their feelings and accepting that it will be difficult for them.  You'll all probably suffer culture shock in different ways and it isn't easy, but so long as you're listening to each other, and giving plenty of hugs, they'll cope and probably benefit from it long-term. 

How about letting the older daughter (or maybe both of them) start a blog, where she can share photos and her feelings about the new place with the family back home?  I've found blogging very therapeutic, and it's good to be able to express feelings in writing about new sights and sounds, and then look back to see how I've adjusted gradually.

One thing we did when we moved to Cyprus was agreed to educate our sons at home for a year rather than sending them into a local school.  They were 11 and 9 at the time.  When we lived for a couple of years in the USA my older son (6 at the time) went into a local school, and hated it.  We didn't realise until much later on when we were back in the UK.   He said he wanted a chance to look around in Cyprus , and get to know the area, and find out what other kids thought of the schools before joining one.  It was a pretty scary thought for me, but seemed like a good idea and their teachers in the UK encouraged it, saying it was far the best thing to do while adjusting to a new culture.   (As it happens, we all loved home education so much that we continued until they were 18, but that wasn't the plan originally).

We also got a cat when we moved.   Our older son had badly wanted a cat, but we knew we were likely to be moving abroad so had been without one.  (Now we have four, but that's another story too!)

They do make new friends in a new country - children are pretty adaptable, and so long as they know they can stay in touch with their friends and relatives back home, with letters and emails and phone calls, they'll probably find it easier than you do!

Articles to help you in your expat project in Europe

  • Setting up a business in Greece
    Setting up a business in Greece

    Starting your own company or being self-employed in Greece is not easy for non-locals, let alone for non-EU ...

  • Getting married in Greece
    Getting married in Greece

    Dreaming of getting married in Greece? Whether you're a foreigner or a Greek citizen, tying the knot in this ...

  • Residence permits in Greece
    Residence permits in Greece

    Obtaining a residency permit is crucial if you want to remain in Greece as an expat, allowing you to access many ...

  • Leisure in Italy
    Leisure in Italy

    Living in Italy also means benefiting from a multitude of leisure activities. Between museums, art cities, ...

  • How to drive in Greece
    How to drive in Greece

    Driving in Greece is not for the faint of heart. Apart from the logistics of converting your driving license or ...

  • Work visas for Greece
    Work visas for Greece

    Greece is a popular destination for foreigners looking to work and live in the EU, but navigating the visa and ...

  • Starting a business in Italy
    Starting a business in Italy

    Are you interested in moving to Italy and setting up a business here? Italy's reputation for bureaucracy and ...

  • Long-term visas for Italy
    Long-term visas for Italy

    If you have decided to move to Italy, the question of a residence permit arises first. Depending on your ...

All of Europe's guide articles