Have you ever met someone born in Brazil, who grew up in Scotland, graduated in Montreal and now works in Mumbai? People with a similar background are called third-culture kids – globally mobile youngsters whose life-style rivals that of any adult expat.
Third Culture Kids (TCKs) or Global Nomads are individuals who have spent a significant part of their lifetimes outside their parents' cultures, usually because of their parents' work.
The "Third Culture"
The term "third-culture kids" was coined in the 1960s by US sociologist Dr. Ruth Hill Useem. She first encountered this phenomenon when she researched North American children living in India back in the fifties. Useem used the term "Third Culture Kids" because TCKs integrate aspects of their birth culture (the first culture) and the new culture (the second culture), creating a unique "third culture".
TCK's: great cross-culturalists
Matthew Neigh, associate executive director of Interaction International, says TCKs can become the 21st Century, cross-cultural and internationally mobile workforce. Neigh, a TCK now based in Colorado Springs, says the benefits for children include their development of a three-dimensional view of the world in which media images of different countries carry greater depth.
He says TCKs have a tangible link to such images and a greater sensitivity to the world in which they live. TCKs can also become great cross-culturalists - people who are in more demand than ever before.
"International businesses want people who cannot only survive, but thrive in today's marketplace, regardless of where they are placed," he says. Neigh cites the example of a business executive who is keen to employ more TCKs because their cultural sensitivity gives them advantages when placed in new locations.
But these individuals need to understand who they are, appreciate their heritage and avoid feeling like a victim, he says.
Explaining Third-Culture Kids
Some TCKs suddenly realize they are a "hidden immigrant" because they think differently to that of their parents' culture, defined as the passport culture.
Neigh says TCKs can start to feel like second-class citizens, like victims, because they are classed as foreigners in their host culture, but don't necessarily belong in their passport culture.
Third-culture kids often get along best with those who experience the same cultural muddle. It usually depends on the personality of each child how they handle the situation, but also on the duration of their stay, their age and their parents' attitude. Surprisingly, many third-culture kids deal with their nomadic, hybrid way of life very well.
Excellent communication and diplomatic skills are what many third-culture kids get out of their experience abroad. These skills help third-culture kids thrive later on, during their academic studies as well as their career.
A word of advice for the parents
Parents are urged to understand that their children will be different and to accept that their children may want to remain behind in their host country, even if their parents return home.
Neigh says parents will be better off once they realize their child's expat heritage "will give their children the opportunity to profoundly impact this world".
"It is important that parents help their children have a balanced view of the world around them," Neigh says. "To only focus on the host culture or only on the passport culture is a loss to the 'third culture'."
He urges parents to celebrate holidays from both passport and host cultures and encourage their children to keep in contact with relatives and friends, but not at the expense of integrating into the host culture. In a dual nationality family, both passport cultures need to be preserved, he says.
He also advises parents who share the same nationality to speak one language in the home, namely that of the passport culture.
In addition, TCKs are more inclined to adjust in a healthy manner if there is a presence of a practical, religious faith. Neigh believes amid a life of transition, TCKs are looking for hope - hope that they will cope and survive all the changes. A consistent faith offers them that hope, he says.
He urges parents to help maintain a child's multiculturalism to develop their cross-cultural abilities, enabling them to build bridges between various cultures.
"If too many changes, differences and languages are introduced too early in life or all at once, it can become so confusing for the child that it all gets diluted to the point where it becomes more of a challenge than a benefit," he says.
Claudia is a multilingual consultant fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and Dutch with over 25 years international experience in communications, public relations & marketing. She was born in Venezuela from Dutch parents, has lived and worked in Venezuela, Colombia, Curacao, St. Maarten, USA, Italy and The Netherlands where she resides. She is Colors Chief Editor. Her duties include content selection, revision & editing, finding and attracting collaborators, and identifying new business opportunities for Liberty Publications. More info
