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A review by ridgewaygirl
Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds by Ruth E. van Reken, David C. Pollock
4.0
Years ago, when I was moving between two countries, I was given a stack of cassette tapes of talks given by David C. Pollock]], so the contents of the book were more a reminder than new information. I will say that several of the points he makes were enormously helpful a decade ago and are still just as useful to anyone moving to another country. His emphasis in this book is on how to help children make the adjustments needed to thrive in a new culture, how to return to their original country later and how having been raised in more than one culture can be both a great enhancement and a challenge, but the contents will also be valuable to any adult in that situation.
This summer, I packed up a household of children, pets and things and followed my SO out to Germany. It's an adventure and a great opportunity for the kids to see Europe, now that they're old enough to remember it. But there are challenges involved in moving them away from their familiar places and people. Reading Third Culture Kids has been useful in helping me to prepare the kids for the experience.
Some of the things that stood out was the reminder that no matter how difficult the adjustment, there will be a time, a few months down the road, when everyday activities are routine. I remind myself of that daily. He also emphasized the importance of leaving the previous place with good-byes said, parties attended and any conflicts resolved before you leave. Knowing that people care about you and will miss you does make it a lot easier to jump into a new environment with both feet, secure in those old relationships and knowing that, in time, new relationships will form.
This summer, I packed up a household of children, pets and things and followed my SO out to Germany. It's an adventure and a great opportunity for the kids to see Europe, now that they're old enough to remember it. But there are challenges involved in moving them away from their familiar places and people. Reading Third Culture Kids has been useful in helping me to prepare the kids for the experience.
Some of the things that stood out was the reminder that no matter how difficult the adjustment, there will be a time, a few months down the road, when everyday activities are routine. I remind myself of that daily. He also emphasized the importance of leaving the previous place with good-byes said, parties attended and any conflicts resolved before you leave. Knowing that people care about you and will miss you does make it a lot easier to jump into a new environment with both feet, secure in those old relationships and knowing that, in time, new relationships will form.