Expatriate kids: Ways to make them feel at home in India!
So, you’re on your way to India on an assignment. You’re excited and worried at the same time. Excited to see a new country and experience a new culture. Worried that your kids won’t be able to adjust to the new environment. Are you concerned that your kids may feel uprooted? Do you wonder if they would find new friends? Do you want them to continue their education following the International Baccalaureate curriculum they are so used too?
Here are some ways to make your kids feel at home in India:
Prepare them for the move: Talk to your kids about the move. Tell them about India. Get them to read some books on India. Have them look up some web sites on India. Tell them that it’s an exciting opportunity to experience new cultures, meet up with new people and appreciate a new way of life.
However, be realistic in your portrayal of your new life in India. Don’t paint a very glorious picture – making the move sound like an Indiana Jones adventure. Else they may feel let down once they face reality. Talk to them about the good, the bad and the ugly.
Kids tend to feel a wee bit uprooted when they move. So, assure them that they will come back to meet up with their friends and relatives, back home from time to time. Also, assure them that you will always be with them and support them and help them settle down in a new country.
Involve them in the move: Help them pack up things. Get them to say good-bye to friends and family, while promising to write back and come back on visits. This way the kids get a kind of closure and will also be ready for the new life. Once you’re in India, get your kids to unpack and help you settle down in your new home.
Provide a sense of security: Children adapt faster if they feel secure in the new environment. The new place feels different, smells different and people look a lot different. So, be patient and provide a warm blanket of security by continuing with your daily routine just as before in your new country, as well. Small children may experience separation anxiety and may even have trouble sleeping. So, take some time to make them feel comfortable and secure.
Explore the city and surrounding areas: Take them around town, so that they get better acquainted to the sights and sounds of the new country. India’s crowded roads, heavy-duty traffic and street-hawkers may scare them, at first. So, don’t overwhelm them, head-on. Take it slow. And make it fun. Assure them they can always return to the safety of their home. You can also take them on a small road trip to a neighboring tourist destination to get them to appreciate the new country. You can also meet up with neighbors and learn a few words from the local language. This will be a confidence-booster as they can communicate with people around them.
Enroll them in a top-quality international school: Finding the right school in India for your children is the most important decision you will ever make. Children spent most of their time in schools. They learn, socialize and develop behaviors and attitudes in school. So, choose an international school that specializes in imparting quality education for expat kids. Few internationals schools in India’s IT capital have students from all over the world who come for an international learning experience. Even faculty members are from all parts of the world. Many of these schools follow the International Baccalaureate curriculum or the International Baccalaureate (IB) model which is followed by most American and European schools. Global cuisine is served in the cafeteria and additional emphasis is given to extra-curricular activities. Your kids can feel at ease in IB schools India because it’s so much like their old school. They have friends from their own country and also from other cultures. They speak and learn English, Spanish, French and so many European languages. They learn horse-riding and play baseball. They eat, learn and play, just like back home. International schools in India serve as the perfect learning ground – molding kids to become well-rounded individuals, while making them feel truly at home.
Most importantly, you must understand the fact that kids adapt to changes really well. And expatriate kids turn out to be adjustable, well-rounded and tolerant individuals, simply because of the diversity they experience as youngsters.
Some IB school options in Bangalore India:
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