Expat Life in Thailand
  • Home
  • Food / Drink
    • Food and Drink Thailand
    • Food and Drink Bangkok
    • Food and Drink Pattaya
    • Food and Drink Hua Hin
    • Food and Drink Chiang Mai
  • Health / Beauty
  • Education
  • Travel / Leisure
    • Book Reviews
    • Activities and Adventure
    • Hotels and accommodation
    • Art and Culture
    • Lifestyle
  • Online Magazines
  • Home
  • Food / Drink
    • Food and Drink Thailand
    • Food and Drink Bangkok
    • Food and Drink Pattaya
    • Food and Drink Hua Hin
    • Food and Drink Chiang Mai
  • Health / Beauty
  • Education
  • Travel / Leisure
    • Book Reviews
    • Activities and Adventure
    • Hotels and accommodation
    • Art and Culture
    • Lifestyle
  • Online Magazines
Expat Life in Thailand

H.E. Mrs. Orna Sagiv Ambassador of Israel to Thailand

In July last year, H.E. Mrs. Orna Sagiv arrived in Phuket for 14 day quarantine and immediately resumed the duty…

Read more

H.E. Mr. Jose Borges dos Santos Junior, The Brazilian Ambassador to Thailand

In September last year, H.E. Mr. Jose Borges dos Santos Junior, Ambassador of the Embassy of Brazil to the Kingdom…

Read more

H.E. Mrs. C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne The Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand

February 4th marks the Independence Day of Sri Lanka. Expat Life sat down with H.E. Mrs. C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne, the…

Read more

H.E. Mr. David Daly the European Ambassador to Thailand

Expat Life in Thailand were honoured to sit down and talk to the new European Union Ambassador David Daly. Personally,…

Read more
News and Event

Black Caviar: An exquisite delicacy

Black Caviar is one of the world’s most exquisite and exotic foods. Fish roe that is from a sturgeon is considered…

Read more

SIMON LANDY’S INTERVIEW

We speak today to Simon Landy MBE, a long term resident of Thailand, highly successful real estate executive and property…

Read more

H.E. Mr. Mark Gooding the British Ambassador to Thailand

Expat Life had the pleasure of sitting down with H.E. Mark Gooding the British Ambassador to Thailand and discuss his…

Read more
Hotels and accommodationTravel and Leisure

Movenpick Resort Khao Yai

I write this from the terrace of what could be a castle in a fairytale. A German Palace in the…

Read more

H.E. Mr. Lindsay Kimwole Kiptiness, The Kenyan Ambassador to Thailand

Thailand and Kenya have enjoyed cordial ties and close cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1967. Kenya opened its…

Read more
News and Event

German ambassador visits CDSC Forest in Chiang Mai

On the 19th of November 2021, the German ambassador to Thailand Mr. Georg Schmidt visited the CDSC Forest in Mae…

Read more
Travel and Leisure

Hospitality industry… where your workplace is your home

The Covid-19 epidemic has affected everyone on the planet. It continues to do so and will impact the way we…

Read more

Expat Life French Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou

Expat Life were honoured to have the opportunity to interview the French Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou please…

Read more

Parenting expat kids

by Tina Haskins Chadha April 14, 2021
written by Tina Haskins Chadha April 14, 2021

The next generation of global citizens from everywhere, from nowhere

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.

Happy young mother playing and having fun with her little baby son in the park on a sunny summer day. Family on sunset

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.

Each expat community differs in terms of the mix of precise backgrounds and nationalities, but what remains consistent is how expat groups prioritise spending time with each other. Their shared experience in a perpetual loop morphing from newbie, to fully settled in, to prepping to move again is at once both relatable and frustrating. There is the initial excitement, then the big ambitious plans to master the local language to the realisation that the posting is nearly complete and it will soon be time to pack out! Expat community members relate to one another on a level that acknowledges this state of impermanence, of always upcoming mobility whether for the annual trek back home to visit family or the move to the next post. The children of expats historically were even pigeonholed into smaller, less complimentary, category labels reflecting where their parents worked – “Army brats,” “biz kids,” “diplo brats,” even “oil kids.” Putting these belittling labels aside, third culture kids do have a unique upbringing. They are comfortable within multicultural settings. They typically are better equipped to deal with newness and change. They have to hone these skills to thrive, after all.

But it is not always smooth sailing for these cultural chameleons. There are some unique challenges to raising third culture kids. Most important may be the stress level they experience when the time comes to repatriate to their home country. A stress that can be compounded by the anticipation of culture shock their parents themselves expect imminently as well. The simplicity of early childhood is a time under appreciated by TCK parents. At the time, parents are too exhausted to recognise the early years are the “honeymoon phase” of third culture kid parenting. The inherently adaptable child will be amendable to trekking along on a variety of outings, even the “boring” cultural stops or rustic hikes through remote hillsides. The challenging teenage years are when the TCK will typically feel more worry over peer issues, fitting in or more accurately worry about being different. These life disruptions do run the risk of having lasting effects from loneliness to depression.

Yet, overall, most highlight that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks of raising third culture kids. The experience also can bring the family closer through these shared times of change and adjustment. So, let’s celebrate the benefits of today’s TCK – an ever digitally connected, creative and curious tribe. This child can become bilingual or multilingual, a skill exceptionally seamless to achieve in the early years when language skills are developing. They can gain a truly worldview perspective getting up close knowledge of everything from cultural events to civil unrest. They can be more sensitive and empathetic to people from different backgrounds and socio-economic groups. They will be highly adaptive. They will have killer stories to share with friends back home and their own children in the future. They will have a network of friends around the globe. They will always think a flight under five hours is a quick commute. They will be natural mathematicians needing to calculate cost of goods between currencies, Amazon import fees and time zone differences for social media chats with friends across an array of globe time zones. They will have a diverse range of favourite foods, goofball jokes and corny songs to love.

Some say being a third culture kids creates a risk of being rootless. Never fully belonging to one place over another. I believe it brings choice, freedom, and adaptability – benefits that are priceless.

(Visited 19 times, 1 visits today)
Did you like this article? Become a Patron and help us bring you great content in the future!
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tina Haskins Chadha

Tina Haskins Chadha - Clean air advocate and co-founder of Care for Air (www.careforair.org), an independent awareness and advocacy organization based in India.  Tina originally hails from New York City where she lived and worked before moving to Southeast Asia. She spent 15 years as a communication and brand strategist for some of the world’s most respected consumer brands. In 2009, she began expat life, first in New Delhi, India, by 2016 in Bangkok. She has felt the impact of air pollution within her own family and was struck by the lack of awareness and constructive data available to the general public. She believes the air we breathe is the ultimate democratizer and that clean air must be accessible to all. Through her work with Care for Air, an independent, not for profit awareness and advocacy organization, the power of many came together to make a difference in growing community awareness and engagement on this critical issue.  

previous post
How to use conflict to strengthen your relationships
next post
Thai massage times

Never give up A Thai Love story or...

October 5, 2021

For Gladwin Pantastico, running a classical music school...

August 23, 2021

Global animal health is being overlooked in the...

April 24, 2021

EMJOY

April 23, 2021

April-May 2021 Issue

EXPAT LIFE IN THAILAND FACEBOOK

Facebook

EXPAT LIFE IN THAILAND INSTAGRAM

Categories

  • Breast Cancer (2)
  • Education (278)
  • Expat Life (86)
  • Fashion (51)
  • Fiction (8)
  • Food and Drink (123)
  • Green (20)
  • Health and Beauty (306)
  • Interview (38)
  • Jobs & Internships (12)
  • Lifestyle (338)
  • Love and Relationship (96)
    • Family (62)
  • Magazine (16)
  • News and Event (622)
    • Updates (115)
  • NGO (26)
  • Poem (5)
  • Travel and Leisure (647)
    • Activities and Adventure (105)
    • Art and Culture (140)
    • Book Reviews (43)
    • Hotels and accommodation (84)
  • Uncategorised (64)
  • Women's Group (13)

Copyright @ 2021 - ExpatLife in Thailand Magazine | All Rights Reserved

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in articles posted on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Expat Life in Thailand magazine. Links to other web sites do not imply an endorsement of the materials disseminated at those websites, nor does the existence of a link to another site imply that the organisation or person publishing at that site endorses any of the materials at this site.