Children who come into contact with foreign cultures at an early age benefit from a new language, new friends, and new cultural experiences. Very often children become familiar with foreign languages in a short amount of time, especially if they attend a local kindergarten or school. Children are also exposed to new ideas and perspectives through their experiences at kindergarden, school or while making new friends at the destination country. This way, they can gain a different perspective of their own culture.

However, integration into the new country must succeed both for you and your children while you’re studying or working overseas, which is more likely to occur with extensive cultural and organisational preparation.

In order to create a social network for the child, the parent should at least have a very good basic knowledge of the new language. It is also advisable to find specific sports and music clubs or other local organisations where the children can continue their previous hobbies or discover new leisure activities.

Don’t be afraid of the associated paperwork and logistical processes, because financing a stay abroad with a child is not impossible. Under certain circumstances,  a funded stay in a different country can be even more affordable than a stay in your home city through mobility scholarships and grants such as Erasmus+. In addition, you can apply for a special grant to cover the additional costs of an internship abroad that you as a (single) parent may have. You can find detailed advice on this topic at our office, LEONARDO-BÜRO SACHSEN, and DAAD.

Generally, there are hardly any offers in student dorms for foreign students with children, so you should look for suitable accommodation in your target region before arrival. Please consider and take advantage of the possibilities we have listed here. When picking your accomodation, keep in mind the distance from your home to a kindergarden/school and to green areas or places where the children can play.

Integration into a new country and a new environment does not happen magically, and usually requires good-quality care facilities – depending on the age of the children. The following support systems and considerations will make the cultural transition easier:

• Creating a social network for young children that are not old enough to attend schoool or kindergarden. If the child is already of school age, it mostly will not be possible to dismiss the child from school for the entire duration of the internship. However, it is possible to enrol the child at a (German) school, if one exists in their new home city. Otherwise, the child can also be taught at home after work or on weekends according to the school curriculum. Through their interactions with other children, they will blend into the new culture faster.
• Visiting the child’s future school or kindergarten in order to get an accurate picture of what kind of facilities your child will attend.

Ask your health insurance company about insurance regulations in your country and consider additional travel insurance. Attention should also be paid to vaccinations, since most European countries require the child to be fully vaccinated if they are to be enrolled in childcare facilities.

If you are travelling with children, you will also find detailed information on vaccinations, first aid and many other topics on the web pages of the Tropical Institute.