4 Ways To Ensure Your Child Feels Comfortable And Confident When Starting School In A Different Country

Relocating to a new country really is the proverbial rollercoaster one would expect it to be. Every member of the family will be experiencing excitement, happiness, trepidation and, quite naturally and understandably more than a small amount of stress and worry. 

Obviously, if you have children, their happiness, how they fit in and how quickly they settle and enjoy attending their new school will no doubt be on the highest echelon of your priority list. With that being said, here are four ways to ensure your child feels confident and comfortable after moving to an international school. 

• Make Prior Contact And Gain As Much Information From The New School As Possible

As in other areas of life, preparation truly is the best defence against unexpected proverbial bumps in the road. Once you have successfully enrolled your child, contact the school and request as much information as possible on everything from the accommodation (if provided) and lesson timetable, to any equipment and provisions needed and of course the uniform rules, if any. 

Furthermore, established and prestigious British international schools abroad will be more than happy to arrange a phone call, or even video call, with you and your child to ask staff any questions they may have ‘face to face’. 

• Enrol Your Child In Language Lessons In Good Time 

Enabling and encouraging your child to learn at least the basics of the native language spoken in your destination country will benefit them in a plethora of ways.

Not only will your child find their first few months at their international school immeasurably easier, they will be able to make new friends much more easily and faster, as well as making it possible for them to participate in extracurricular activities right off the bat. This will help them settle in quicker.

• Trust Your Child To Find Their Own Way

Part of being a good parent is to adequately prepare your child to be as independently minded as possible, so during their first few weeks at school, let them find their feet themselves.

Obviously, being there to guide them, help and sort problems out if and when they arise is part and parcel of preparing your child for international study, but in terms of their free time, be sure to let them organise it themselves as they wish. If, for the first few weeks, they prefer to remain home at the weekends, you should endeavour to respect their wishes.

• Prepare A Sentimental Box

In order to combat at least some of the homesick feelings your child may well experience in the first few months of their new school, a wonderful idea is to pack a sentimental box of letters, photographs and little gifts from their friends and family members that you are moving away from. You could even organise this as a surprise for your child and present them with such a box on their first day in their new international school.