It was Saturday morning and I had just finished making pancakes for my two boys.
I was earning #mompoints.
My 5 and 9-year-old were pouring massive amounts of maple syrup on their pancakes, giving me side glances to see if I’d noticed.
We were taking turns listening to music.
During my turn I played “No Roots” by Alice Merton.
“’Cause I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night
And a thousand times I’ve seen this road
A thousand times
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground”
I say to the boys, “That is kind of like our theme song, isn’t it?”
My 5-year-old gives me this puppy-like look which signals to me this was over his head. He asks, “What are roots?”
I point out the window and try to explain how a tree stands tall and strong because of its roots.
My 9-year-old interrupts and says, “Some people stay in one place and have roots. Not us, we fly in the air.”
I beam with pride that my son can see what I am seeing.
Global mobility, in many ways, is home for Third Culture Kids. Roots.
You may have cross-cultural or Third Culture Kids. If you are like me, big questions arise as you think about their futures:
- What can we do as parents to support our kids as they leave home?
- How can we help our TCKs create a smooth transition to life at university?
- How can we support our own kids deal with the grief and loss of community when they leave the international nest and face the world on their own?
Essentially: What can we do to help our Third Culture Kids come of age?
This week’s episode of Expat Happy Hour has answers for you. In Helping TCKs Come of Age with Dr. Hannah Morris discover:
- The kinds of proactive conversations that support our TCKs when they are in elementary
- What we have to watch out for as our children are in secondary school
- Key questions to ask early on
- How to help TCKs find language to talk about who they are
- What is an “invisible immigrant,”
- And more!
In part four of this six-part Interview Series, Dr. Morris from Intercultural Transitions, international educator and global nomad, shares her passion for preparing globally mobile students for success in college and beyond.
Click here to listen now to Helping TCKs Come of Age with Dr. Hannah Morris
Here’s to showing up for our TCKs
p.s. If you listen and want more, don’t miss Episode 59 How to Help Your TCK Form a Sense of Identity and Belonging Before Adulthood.
