This year two of my three Third Culture Kids are graduating. Last year, we went on college tours in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We observed some, um, interesting cultural things. Our observations were specific to the Midwest and our perspective comes from 16 years in the Horn of Africa. But, they just might help you with … Continue reading Third Culture Kids, College, and Culture Shock
What a season of books for A Life Overseas! I loved seeing Amy Young’s post earlier this week about All the News That’s Fit to Tell. And Elizabeth Trotter released a book recently as well, Hats. Such a privilege to write alongside these wise and creative people. Definitely check out their books! And I’ve got … Continue reading Finding Home: Third Culture Kids in the World
This summer, The Atlantic published a fascinating article called Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation? I encourage every parent, especially of tweens and teens, to read it and discuss it with your children. I read the article with a particular mindset, that of a parent raising teenagers who also are Third Culture Kids. I wondered, … Continue reading Third Culture Kids and Social Media
Every summer I begin thinking about change and transition, about reentry and culture shock. With the first warm breezes of the season, I am transported to places and times where this was my reality. And I begin to hear stories from others who are going through these transitions. The stories are told in photographs and … Continue reading Thoughts on Entry, Reentry, and Third Culture Kids
(revised from the original Who Wants Failure? on Djibouti Jones, written at the end of a year in Minnesota during which my husband worked on his PhD in Education Development) I opened the letter from my daughter’s first grade teacher and read it. “Crap.” I wrinkled it into a tight ball, threw it in the … Continue reading Parents of Third Culture Kids, Failure, and Redefining Success
Some of you know I’m a science lover. Our friends back in the States know this too, and a couple times a year they send us a package with their old science magazines (along with other treats). I love Magazine Arrival Day. Earlier this year I cracked open the September 2014 issue of Discover magazine … Continue reading Particle Physics Finally Explains Third Culture Kids!
I was talking to the principal of an international school recently, and he had never heard the term “Third Culture Kid” (TCK). This really surprised me. By now, after more than three decades of research dedicated to understanding the impact of growing up globally mobile, I had assumed that those working with TCKs would at … Continue reading 10 Ways Teachers Can Support Third Culture Kids
Kids say the darndest things. Parents make the darndest lists out of them. Writers published the darndest lists of the darndest things those kids say. Sorry. Some of these are from my own Third Culture Kids, some are from others I know. I want to say before quoting them that I love these kids. I … Continue reading Funny Things Third Culture Kids Say
I’ve been watching parents in the international community say goodbye to their graduating seniors for a while now. I’ve been watching the seniors themselves say goodbye to their friends – fellow third culture kids like themselves. Watching these parental goodbyes feels like a knife in my chest. I have to stop myself from thinking about it just so I … Continue reading On Your High School Graduation: A Letter to My Third Culture Kids
By Cindy Brandt Every person in the congregation put their right hand over their chest and started reciting something in unison. Like having discovered I was driving on the wrong side of the road, I frantically tried to make the correction and catch on to the protocol. Rather panicked, I looked to my American husband … Continue reading Third Culture Kids in the World of Faith
To the Parents of Third Culture Kids If you are raising your children in a country other than their passport country, you are raising third culture kids. The definition used most often is this one from the late Dave Pollock: “A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part … Continue reading To the Parents of Third Culture Kids
Missionary Kids are experiencing abuse and neglect at higher rates than American children. Dramatically higher, in some cases. Now that we know, what do we do? The bottom line: we need to talk to our kids. We need to understand their perspective and how our lives can appear to them. We need to provide clear assurance to them that they are and will continue to be loved, listened to, protected, and cared for.
