Managing Family Relationships as an Expat

There are many ways to make your expat assignment easier and starting any new role can be all-consuming in the first few months. Managing a family during this period often takes a back seat. Knowing that your family's own transition experience will be different to yours, should act as a reminder that you need to make time for them. Try to prioritise supporting your family, be available to listen and communicate with each other. Organising family movie nights or days out is another fantastic way to make some memories in your new home.

 

Supporting your children with this decision needs to start long before the move takes place. It begins with when and how you first tell your children you're moving abroad.  A gentle, straightforward approach works best here. Providing stability and comfort can help your children through this period. Try keeping up your regular routine as much as possible. Make time for the activities you used to spend time doing back home. Getting young kids involved in the move from the beginning will also help them settle into your new home. We cover some other simple steps you can take to help your child prepare for their move overseas. 

When it comes to managing your relationship with elderly parents back home. This can bring up a lot of emotion, particularly if you also have the sole responsibility of caring for parents. There are a few simple ways you can keep your parents still a part of your day-to-day life. Creating a call schedule for you and your children to follow will help them stay in touch with their grandparents.

Planning your next few visits will also give everyone something to look forward to. Ensuring you have some quality time together during the year. To help you manage these relationships as an expat family, you can follow our guide with practical steps on caring for elderly parents back home. 

 

As an expat family, relocating with teenagers is going to be a rocky road. Teenagers are transitioning from childhood to adulthood, striving to become more independent and form their own identities. On top of this, they now must adjust to a new school, home, and social circle. It’s bound to be challenging for them. As the parent, you will need to be proactive in helping your teenager through this transition. Support your teens with school and making new friends. Practising active listening can also help them process their feelings during this time. You can find more effective ways you can help your teens adjust to expat life with our guide.

 

One of the most challenging aspects of managing a family during a move abroad is keeping in touch with your loved ones at home. Staying connected will involve plenty of time over the phone.  If you don’t make the time, it can be easy to lose touch with each other. Creating some structure around calling home is important, especially if you have young children who’s Grandparents are back in your home country. They won’t want to miss out on their grandchildren growing up. So, arrange a time, manage it and stick to it, this will ensure calls will happen regularly even with a busy schedule. It’s okay to reschedule or miss a call every now and then but try to avoid it happen too often so that the lines of communication are kept open between families.