Is Moving Abroad With Children a Good Idea?
Moving abroad with your whole family can be an exciting prospect, with the opportunity to start your life anew and indulge in all of the opportunities that a new country has to offer. However, moving abroad with a baby or small child can also present many other difficulties which you may need to combat in order to move successfully.
In terms of education…
The future education of your child will be at the forefront of all parent’s minds. While countries such as the United States, Switzerland and Sweden traditionally have extremely good education rankings, others struggle with their schooling and education techniques. If your children are already in school, you should try to find schools in the local area that have a similar curriculum to those at home. You should also move outside of term time in order to ensure that your children’s grades are not pushed back. You might also consider the homeschooling opportunities available if you intend to move around once you have travelled abroad, or if you believe that your child may need extra tutoring.
If you divorce…
If your family are living overseas and want to divorce, then there may be complications over what country the divorce proceedings take place within and the laws that you must follow. In order to navigate these, you should employ an international divorce lawyer to arrange financial and child custody arrangements. If you are in another country, it is possible that a foreign court may be able to make decisions over the future of your child which are against your personal choices, and custody battles may be more complicated if one of the parents has to travel between countries to visit the child. It is crucial to get legal help immediately so that they can help you to gain the outcome which you believe is necessary.
Whether they come to terms with moving…
You also need to consider the temperament of your child before you decide whether moving is a good idea, as some children are more adaptable than others. To help them through the move, you should get them involved in the process, explaining to them as soon as possible what is going to happen and allowing them to help you make decisions such as which house to live in, what school they would like to go to, and any home furnishings that you are choosing.
To choose the right location….
It is also important that you are able to find the right location for your family life, and you should decide this by the type of lifestyle that you will have there and its safety for children. A lot of information about the safety of different countries is provided by the UK government’s travel website. You might also wish to choose a location similar to that of home, such as the city or the countryside so that the environment is recognisable to your child.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.