Moving overseas is a major challenge for the entire family, but teenagers can often feel it the worst. When expatriates accept jobs abroad or wish to up roots in search of a better standard of living overseas, teenagers can often feel that they are left out of important decisions that affect their own lives and may encounter emotions of confusion, anger and uncertainty. Here are some useful resources that you can use to have open discussions with your children about what lies ahead and proactively help them to manage their own feelings.
Resources for expatriates who relocate with teenagers
Third Culture Kid
The tckid.com website is an online resource that allows expatriate teenagers to connect with other teens who are also experiencing life overseas. The network has over 50 groups throughout the world and offers a range of resources that are aimed at helping teens to overcome any emotional problems they are experiencing as a result of living abroad.
Expat Teens Talk Book
Expat Teens Talk is a great book that reviews some of the feelings that teenage expatriates encounter in their daily lives. It is useful for both teenagers and their parents and teachers as it can help them to identify how teens think and feel. See our Expat Teens Talk book review for more information.
Expat Teens Talk Blog
Supporting the book is a comprehensive online blog called Expat Teens Talk. Within this online resource guest bloggers frequently share their own stories and experiences of life abroad. This is a great supplement to the book and gives teenagers somewhere to go to voice their questions, suggestions and worries.
http://www.expatteenstalk.blogspot.sg/
Club Expat: A Teenager’s Guide to Moving Overseas
A teenager’s guide to moving overseas is an extremely useful book that contains creative solutions and ideas for raising children happily while living abroad. Written by two brothers who faced multiple overseas moves during their own childhoods, the book covers a range of different topics, from culture shock to making friends and will serve as a useful companion for young adults who are about to embark on a move overseas for the first time.
Youth Compass
Youth compass is a fantastic online resource that aims to place expatriate teenagers in contact with positive role models who can help them to make the most of their experiences abroad. The organization runs regular events and aims to help mobile teens to accept themselves and grow to who they want to be.
International Therapist Directory
This is a useful list of therapists throughout the world who are specifically trained in assisting TCKs to understand and deal with their emotions. The therapists are located around the world and the aim of the directory is to help parents to find suitable support for children who are experiencing more serious problems that may be impacting their quality of life.
http://internationaltherapistdirectory.com/
Among Worlds Magazine
The Among Worlds Magazine is a quarterly magazine that is specifically designed to explore some of the common issues that impact TCKs. It can be a really useful resource for parents and contains a wealth of interesting insights and advice into helping children to have a positive experience while living abroad.
http://www.amongworlds.blogspot.sg/
Families in Global Transition
Families in Global Transition (FIGT) provides cross-cultural education and training that is aimed at providing advice and support for the entire expat family. The organization provides annual conferences as well as year-round benefits and a very useful web site.
Global Education Explorer
Global Education Explorer provides a web-based information source that allows expatriates with children of school age to understand and compare educational systems throughout the world. Expatriates who need to know about how the schooling system in their host country will compare with that of their home country can visit the site, input details and birthdates and will be presented with a quick and easy means of comparing curriculums, assessments and education requirements.
http://www.globaleducationexplorer.com/globaledexpl.nsf/
Are you aware of any resources that can help expatriates and their teenagers? Please leave a comment below and share details of them with our community.
