Moving Abroad With Your Family

Moving Abroad With Children Advice & Guidance

Moving abroad with children can seem like a daunting prospect – the potential difficulty of adjusting to a new environment, miles from home with a language barrier can be off-putting but there are many benefits too.

A move abroad can be great for broadening your children’s horizons, introducing them to new cultures, experiences, languages and people. Whilst it is a fantastic opportunity, we understand that protecting you and your family should be as stress free as possible during the process.

At Expacare have developed a range of Family Insurance Plans with world class, flexible benefits to match your lifestyle. And with our handy tips below, moving abroad with them doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might think.

Get them involved in the process
Involve your children from the outset – have them look at houses with you so that they build up an understanding of where they’re going and feel involved in the move.

Talk to them about it
Ask questions, and really listen and take note of their answers and take the time to explain anything they’re confused or worried about. This will make them feel as though their opinions are important and that they are a part of the decision-making process.

Be honest
Be upfront and clear about everything from the beginning – tell them if you’re scared too, or if you don’t know what it’ll be like but also make sure to highlight the benefits and that it’ll be a fun and exciting adventure!

Have a themed night before you go
Cook up some of the local food, decorate and dress up the house with relevant items and listen to some traditional music – not only is it a bit of fun but it will also help soften the transition.

Be positive
It’s going to be stressful at times and the departure day especially will be tricky but try hard to be positive as your mood will rub off on them.

Think about timing
Make the move as easy as possible on all of you and time it with school timetables, national holidays, etc.

Bring a reminder of home
By packing familiar items from home it will help your little ones to settle in and your new abode to feel like a home away from home.

Consider staying in an expat community
This way you will be surrounded by other families going through the same transition you are and you can bond over shared experience and even help each other out if it gets difficult.

Get to know the area
Get out and about with the children – the sooner they get to know their surroundings the more settled and comfortable they will feel.

Maintain routine
Just because you’re in a different country doesn’t mean that everything has to change – keep as much of your previous routine as possible so that the adjustment seems less noticeable.

Maintain family traditions
Being miles from home doesn’t mean it has to feel far away – if you have a family birthday or Christmas traditions, make sure you keep them in place.

Find fun things to do for the family
Put yourself out there, join clubs and groups and try some new activities – not only is it fun and will make the move easier – it’s also a great way to meet people and for the kids to make some friends.

Give them time
Children are adaptable but it won’t happen overnight – if they’re struggling to begin with, they may just need a bit of time to adjust so be patient and sympathetic to their struggles.

Look after yourself
Children learn by example – if you make the effort to learn the language and fully embrace the move, they will too. So make sure you practice what you preach!
We hope the above will be helpful in making your move abroad that little bit easier.

Speak to our medical insurance experts today to start protecting your family.