Parents! Have you relocated with children?

For us, nothing pulls more at our heart strings than seeing our children worried and unhappy.

In our experience, international relocation is the one sure fire way of upsetting our children and leading to some guilt riddled moments as parents.

Conversely and happily, it has also been the catalyst for fantastic experiences, very smiley faces and some fabulous proud parent moments. 

A mixed bag of highs and lows.

And a never ending circuit round these two questions:

• Am I handling this right?
• What more could I be doing?

This week we are delighted to welcome to the Thriving Abroad Podcast, Kate Berger. Our conversation gives insights, suggestions and we felt validation to at least some of our parenting efforts.

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Kate is a child and adolescent psychologist, consultant and the founder of the Expat Kids Club which, since its inception has provided counsel to hundreds of youngsters and their families, as well as major corporations from the UK, Germany, Singapore and the USA.

In this podcast we talk about:

• The benefits to children of a peripatetic life.
• The challenges that children face as they react to the impact of life changing decisions that are usually totally beyond their control.
• Why it is important to recognise that the process is stressful; ‘we cannot put our heads in the sand not acknowledge that stress is a real thing, that it is there.’ Kate
• The wide range of support that we as parents can offer.
• The importance of understanding yourself and your reactions as a first step in supporting your child.
• When to call in the professionals.
• The power of mindfulness in managing the impact of change and transition.

We really enjoyed and benefited from this interview and we hope you will too. Please feel free to pass this on to parents in your network who may find the interview helpful.

If you would like to learn more about Kate you can find her at:

• The Expat Kids Club
• Mindfulness International
• Kate’s Facebook Page.

During the interview we mention the organisation, Families in Global Transition, which supports families and professionals working in the field of international mobility. Visit their website to learn more.