Teenagers may find the idea of emigrating traumatic. They are at an age where their friends and surroundings are important to them; the thought of moving somewhere new and building up new friendships may seem a little daunting. They may react with happiness, anger, fear or seeming indifference.
Handling your stressed out teenager may take a lot of effort on your part. Try these tips and aim for a happy family both pre and post emigration.
Ten Tips For Preparing Teenagers For Emigration
- Talk to them early on. Explain to them why you feel the move is the best thing for the whole family.
- Let them see that you have put thought into their needs; tell them about schools, colleges, places of interest/trips out that would interest them.
- Talk about all the ways they can keep in touch with their friends; text, chat, email, video VOIP phone etc. Explain that their friends are welcome to come out to visit during school holidays.
- Give them time to speak. Listen carefully to their concerns. Ask them to make a list of the positives and negatives. Discuss the list with them and tell them that it is alright to feel apprehensive about certain aspects of emigrating.
- Acknowledge that change can be difficult but that, that alone, is not a reason to avoid it.
- Think about planning a trip back home after you have all properly settled in, so that they can see their friends again.
- Give them time. Teenagers often respond to the negatives initially. Let the idea of emigration sink in. If you don’t get an enthusiastic response straight away, don’t express disappointment; let them know that it is normal to need time to get used the idea of such a big change.
- Consider finding someone their own age in the area you are going to move to that they can email for information and befriend. Identify a suitable contact by posting a request on a local Anglo email group. Having a known contact there who is happy and looking forward to meeting them may make all the difference.
- Invest in the things that make your teenager happy. If they enjoy learning an instrument, taking part in a drama group or any other hobby, look into continuing these activities after your move. Discuss the options with your teen so that you can research what is available before you leave.
- Let them arrange a farewell party for their friends.
Some teenagers are swept up with the idea of starting over in a new country and are enthusiastic and participative in your preparations. Others may react more cautiously and need encouragement and support.
Follow the ten tips above to help your teenager through the planning stages of your emigration.
For other articles relating to emigration, including one on preparing younger kids for emigration and another on helping kids to settle in after the move, check out these articles.
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