Moving to New Zealand With Kids? Here are 3 Ways to Help Them Settle In Smoothly
Our clients are often parents of very young children or teenagers (or both), and one of their biggest concerns is how their children will adjust to life in New Zealand. This was something our families also worried about. Arno was fifteen when he moved to New Zealand with his family from South Africa, and Dom was only two years old when her family arrived from the Philippines.
We loved growing up in New Zealand, but our younger years assimilating here didn't come without a few challenges. In this post, we share the 3 measures that helped us settle into New Zealand as children of migrant families.
1. If you're moving from a country where English is not the primary language, consider enrolling your kids on an English language course before the big move
Arno had attended an Afrikaans school back in South Africa. While English was taught in schools, Afrikaans remained the primary language spoken both at home and in school. Arno's parents wanted to ensure that he improved his English speaking, writing, and comprehension skills, so they hired an English language tutor to help him brush up on his skills before moving to New Zealand. The course proved helpful in helping him gain more confidence in communicating in English.
If you're moving from a country where English is not the primary language, and you feel that your kids might need some extra support in their English, it could be worthwhile enrolling them on an English language course to help them strengthen their communication skills and prepare them for school and everyday life in New Zealand.
2. Get them involved in sports or other social extracurricular activities when they start school in New Zealand
We were both very involved in sports and extracurricular activities throughout our school years in New Zealand. We discovered that being part of teams and clubs was a great way not only to make new friends but also to build confidence in various social situations and develop new skills.
Whether it's sports, music, drama, art, writing, or any other interest, encouraging your kids to participate in extracurricular activities and break out of their comfort zone can help them develop a greater sense of belonging and focus in their new environment.
3. Be mindful of cultural differences and how this affects their integration into New Zealand society
For those who migrate to New Zealand at a very young age and are born into a non-Western culture, growing up bicultural in New Zealand can be a confusing and frustrating experience.
Dom was only two years old when she arrived in New Zealand. She has no recollection of the first couple of years of her life in the Philippines, and spent her adolescence balancing the cultural expectations of her Filipino household with Kiwi culture. At times, she found it difficult to reconcile the differences between the two cultures, which sometimes led to disagreements at home.
It's essential to recognise that the new social and cultural environment in which your kids are learning to adapt may be different from your home country and will ultimately shape or influence their behaviour and perspective on aspects such as relationships, career, and life in general. Kids can adapt very quickly, which means they'll most likely adopt ways of living that could be incongruous with your cultural norms and traditions.
Being open to and understanding of cultural differences in your new country can help maintain effective communication and prevent tension or conflict at home as children grow up.
Based on our personal experience, the most important and effective factors in helping kids feel a greater sense of belonging in New Zealand are having good communication skills and a strong support network, which prepares them for success in their new environment.
Being proficient in English, participating in activities that encourage socialising and community involvement, and having a parental support network that fosters open discussion of cultural differences can all contribute to a more positive settling-in experience for migrant kids.
