Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand Aug / Sept 2017: The Kids & Family Issue | Page 16

THIRD CULTURE KIDS:
CHILDREN OF
THE WORLD
By Vanessa Robitaille, Head of Prep School at Brighton College Bangkok
Q: I have lived in Bangkok for two
years. Are my children now classed
as third culture kids? If so, how do I
support them in the future?
A: I have the fortune of being able to
answer your question speaking from
personal experience: I was a third cul-
ture kid who grew to raise two third
culture kids, or TCKs, of my own. Before
I begin, I will briefly explain my back-
ground so you know from which per-
spective I am responding to your query.
England is where I am from, but it
has never been home for me. Home
is Kenya — an East African country
a world apart from England — and
where I spent my childhood and
school years; it’s also where my chil-
dren spent their formative years.
16 WANDERLUST
When my Canadian husband and
I left Africa and moved to China,
our son was asked, while at school,
to draw a picture of the country of
his passport. He struggled, having
no concept of the culture or even
the weather of his so-called home
countries. Without a passport carry-
ing the name of the place he called
home, he had trouble convincing his
new friends in China that he came
from Kenya.
It was while living in China as an
expatriate that I first heard the key
phrase you’ve mentioned in your
question: third culture kid. TCKs —
children raised in a culture other than
their parents’ or their native country’s
cultures for a significant part of their
early years — are given a multitude of
benefits via their multicultural experi-
ences. But they face challenges, too. It
is well-justified, then, to seek help on
lending your children the best sup-
port possible as they weather the ups
and downs of life abroad, and as you
guide them along the way.
Before we dive in with ideas for
parental support, let’s take a look at
the plusses and negatives of the TCK
lifestyle to get a well-rounded view of
those growing up in this scenario.
CULTURE SHOCK
The good news first: TCKs tend to be
quick to create meaningful friend-
ships wherever they may go. At
school, having been the “new kid”
themselves, international pupils may
exhibit higher levels of empathy,
WWW.WANDERLUSTMAG.COM