What goes through a child's mind when they find out they're moving?
Since we decided to move to Zagreb, I've heard that moving is one of the most traumatic things a child can go through. This NY Times article says that the effects can be felt even into adulthood. Looking back at my own experience, I remember not being happy about moving. However, doing so as a child and teenager is what helped me adapt fairly easily to life in Croatia.
Another thing the linked article talks about is the difference moving has on introverts vs. extroverts. Predictably, it's more difficult on the former than the latter. From my own perspective as an introvert, moving wasn't pleasant, but it brought about more personality flexibility. I am now more extroverted than I used to be.
One of the positive things about moving to Zagreb (vs. somewhere outside Croatia) is that we have friends and family there. Our children have acquaintances and we already have a local church we're ready to call home. This, combined with the fact that our children are still relatively young, gives us hope that the move won't be too traumatic.
In talking to our oldest son, Enoh, about the move, he's the one who is least happy. I decided to ask each of the kids a few questions about the move to see what they're thinking about. In watching the interviews, I don't see anything too profound. But if nothing else, this should be interesting for us, and them, to watch in the future as we look back at the unknown of moving.
Take a look if you're interested.
Since we decided to move to Zagreb, I've heard that moving is one of the most traumatic things a child can go through. This NY Times article says that the effects can be felt even into adulthood. Looking back at my own experience, I remember not being happy about moving. However, doing so as a child and teenager is what helped me adapt fairly easily to life in Croatia.
Another thing the linked article talks about is the difference moving has on introverts vs. extroverts. Predictably, it's more difficult on the former than the latter. From my own perspective as an introvert, moving wasn't pleasant, but it brought about more personality flexibility. I am now more extroverted than I used to be.
One of the positive things about moving to Zagreb (vs. somewhere outside Croatia) is that we have friends and family there. Our children have acquaintances and we already have a local church we're ready to call home. This, combined with the fact that our children are still relatively young, gives us hope that the move won't be too traumatic.
In talking to our oldest son, Enoh, about the move, he's the one who is least happy. I decided to ask each of the kids a few questions about the move to see what they're thinking about. In watching the interviews, I don't see anything too profound. But if nothing else, this should be interesting for us, and them, to watch in the future as we look back at the unknown of moving.
Take a look if you're interested.
2 comments:
What a funny ending! Enoh has grown so much! You'll have to show him this video in the not-so-distant future when he has made new friends and has some positive input about the move. I think it's great that you care enough to talk to the children about all of this. I think that will be a huge help in their adjustment. :)
Hey
People in Croatia speak the Croatian language. The linguistic diversity of Croatia is vaguely diverse according to a fractionalization scale which for Croatia is 0.0763. The followers of Christianity are the religious majority in the country. 57.8% of Croatia's population live in cities. This percentage comprises the urban population of Croatia. The rate of urbanization in Croatia is considered to be 0.4. According to data on inbound tourists in Croatia, 10,955,000 tourists arrive in the country each year.
http://www.confiduss.com/en/jurisdictions/croatia/culture/
Thanks
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