"Growing up Global" - 10 things to do now!

Miss May is almost two and has started to build strong relationships with the people around her.  Living in Singapore means her community is diverse!  Her friends in the playground are Vietnamese, Singaporean, Chinese, American, Japanese, Indian, Norwegian and Australian.  Our neighbours are Malaysian, Spanish and Singaporean.  Her swim teacher is from the Philippines, she has Mandarin with her Chinese 'Laoshi' and her music teacher is German (incidentally ... musical monkeys rocks!).  


As wonderful as it is, this way of life was not something my husband and I especially planned for our daughter.  Miss May just happens to live in a very multicultural setting at this point in her life.   


It go me thinking... what conscious steps could I take to help Miss May embrase this time and encourage her to be an active and positive global citizen as she grows?  What will happen when we inevitably go home to Australia with Miss May?  Will all this be forgotten?


I recently purchased "Growing up Global" by Homa Travangar and I wanted to share with you her "10 things to do now".  These are easy things we can all do for our kids, to help them feel more engaged with the big wide world... regardless of where we live!  

How does your family fare in Homa's list?

    Keep the world at your fingertips. Purchase an up-to-date globe and keep it handy for easy reference and/or cover a wall near the kitchen table or other central location with an oversized, laminated world map.

     Enrich your playlists and music collection. As kids become accustomed to so much musical diversity they adjust naturally to the various sounds, making the genres feel less ‘foreign,’ and creating a bridge with new friends from all over the planet.

     Make Birthday Parties Global: When you’re ready to move beyond the Princess, Power Ranger or Pony party themes, consider choices derived from global celebrations: Bastille Day, Cinco de Mayo, Earth Day, Chinese New Year, the World Cup, Olympics…. 

     Spice-Up Thanksgiving and your take-out choices: Look to your cultural heritage (or a guest’s) or a favorite ethnic food style. Start slowly by using a new spice or herb, or add a new side dish. And don’t forget variations on leftovers: turkey enchiladas, green bean and rice pilaf, dumplings and pieroski’s make the next day’s meal almost as exciting as traditional Thanksgiving. When deciding on take-out or choosing a restaurant for a family dinner, try cuisine from a culture that is less familiar to you.

     Find Beautiful Books: Vibrant coffee table and kids’ picture books can bring diverse circumstances, people and emotions to life, for all ages. 

     Decorate the Holidays in a New Way: Decorations from Latin American, Russian, Asian, and many other cultures are available in all kinds of mainstream stores. Kids might enjoy selecting an ornament from a favorite country, or can pick an ornament they find pretty, and then find out about where it came from and what it represents.

     Get passports. Even if you have no intention or budget for international travel, possessing your own passports will put your family in the mindset of the possible, as a very physical reminder of your world citizenship.

     Use Soccer to Go Global. Pick an international team to follow based on your heritage, your friend’s, your favorite type of food, the language you want to learn to speak, your favorite jersey, or hundreds of other reasons – get creative! The FIFA website includes an inter-active world map to help you learn about all the teams and member countries.

     See the World Through Movies: View and compare the stories of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Superman, Jungle Book and many more through movie versions from other countries and eras. Also included: Homa Tavangar’s “Essential 7 Foreign Family Movies” as well as hundreds of other foreign film recommendations for all ages.

 Expose Children to Foreign Language(s): There are lots of ways (covered in the book) to do this, but start by making the effort to learn a few words in a foreign language with your kids – even if it’s learning how to say something mundane or silly like “toilet” in five languages! See if there are root similarities or other ways that languages relate.

Growing Up Global is a book with a great message.  For parents of older children who are looking to engage their kids in dialogue about different cultures and countries it is especially relevant.  I will say however, the target audience is decidedly American and I don't mean that simply in relation to it's many references to Thanksgiving, rather the author seems to speak to American sentiments.  Perhaps ironic given the book's core message!  Furthermore, although she provides some great tips and pointers (who knew that National Geographic has a website especially for kids) much of her content is pre-occupied with convincing the reader that "growing up global" is a good idea in the first place, a forgone conclusion in my home.  Still it's one I'm sure I'll reference from time to time and I do like her "10 things to do now"!   


I'm now wondering how I can reverse these ideas for Third Culture Kids... try to help them foster a stronger connected with 'home', in Miss May's case Australia.  


Stay tuned peeps!