Coping with those VIPs – your kids!

So…you’ve decided to follow your dreams – or that great job offer – and move to Portugal! And if you have children, the good news is that they generally adjust far quicker to a move than most adults.

The younger the child, the easier it is for them to adapt. It is generally acknowledged that children up to the age of seven are able to absorb what goes on around them very easily and language is usually something that they can pick up without too much effort. That is not to say that older children will not be able to cope, merely that it may require more effort on their part.

The essential thing is that you are enthusiastic about the move and that you include them in the preparations. If they think that you as a family are undertaking a huge adventure together, this will go a long way to making the move seem like something to look forward to rather than to dread.
Discuss the move with them and talk about what they can expect to find on arrival. Highlight the advantages of the move and point out that family and friends will be keen to visit them in their new home, where it will be up to them to show them around their new country …

Leaving friends behind is never easy but today, with the Internet, Facebook and emails, it is a whole lot easier. Just make very sure incidentally that when you decide to rent or to buy a property that you have access to the Internet.

A few points that are worth remembering:

- Encourage children to learn about Portugal in advance. Perhaps get an atlas and have a look at a map, read them a book about the country or you could perhaps take them to a Portuguese restaurant
- Take photos of their new home and area if they have not yet seen it yet so that it looks familiar on arrival
- I am a digital online photo album addict. Give your child a cheap digital camera and tell them to make an album of their journey from the UK to their new home…This comes with a warning – it’s addictive!
- Portuguese lessons before you leave the UK will mean that they will have a good idea as to what is going on once they attend school
- Arrange to visit new schools and meet teachers before the first day of school. When my daughter was young, her new school always appointed a ‘mentor’ for each new child – someone in the class who had been at the school for a while and could show her the ropes. You may suggest this…?
- Provide children of all ages with a notebook that they can write down all their friend’s email addresses and contact details to take with them. You may find that the computer, with all these vital details, gets damaged in the move
- There is nothing as comforting as a pet for younger children. Failing that, a favourite toy at hand at all times!

For older children it may be a little bit more difficult. Apart from just the language, there are the social aspects. Teenagers need backup from their peers and have usually formed a close group of friends from whom they get this. Leaving their friends and changing schools will be challenging – I can vouch for this personally as I did it many times and can still remember the feeling of isolation. BUT – given time - it all settles down and, with your support and over time, they will adjust and be happy.

I hope that has given you a few ideas. Remember, kids really do adjust very quickly – I know that the only problem my Swedish friend now residing in the States has is to make sure his five year old kids remember their mother tongue!

Happy week to you and we’ll chat soon,

Carol.

The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.Portugalbuyingguide.com