When the geographical move happens, it is inevitable that the children would be affected and as such, parents have to take care of making sure that their children are more open to the cultural differences. Aside from that, parents also have to be aware of some things like:
Parental roles and expectations in the community they are going in to
This probably one of the difficult things for parents to do. Take for example the expectations from fathers and mothers in different communities. Do they have something like mothers meeting up weekly to talk about motherhood? What are the things that fathers are supposed to teach their children? One of the difficulties about moving in another community is sticking out too much. At least as parents, you would know what to expect and what they expect from you. You may not agree with those things, and you may choose to not practice those things, depending also on your beliefs and circumstances. But it is important to have that understanding.
Activities of the children
Each place has different activities. Find out what they are. Children would need to socialize with fellow children. They could only stay in the house with you too often. It is part of their growth and development. Find out if girls and boys are separate from each other all the time. In case you have children who like sports such as soccer and basketball, are there places they could do that or not? What are the games they play?
Sometimes there would be activities you would not be comfortable having your children attend. Even before stopping them from participating, find out more about them. It is important that they also learn what the community is like there where you are moving in to.
Originally posted on July 4, 2006 @ 3:45 am
