feature article

We Belong Everywhere and Nowhere

To what extent does moving around affect a child’s growth?

         When the world is our home, when we seek happiness in learning about new cultures, when we grow up in foreign places, we are a third culture kid. A third culture kid, defined by TCK World is someone who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture (The Official Home of Third Culture Kids). They usually associate themselves with more than one culture even if they do not have entire possession over any of them.

         TCKs, also known as third culture kids, was a term made by Ruth Hill Useem, a US sociologist. It was introduced during the 1950s to refer to children who have grown up in foreign countries Mayberry, Kate. With Singapore being a very diverse city, consisting of multiple races and cultures, TCKs are more common. 64% of Singapore’s population is made up of foreigners, including Permanent  Residents (PRs) The Singapore Daily. Foreigners here still face multiple difficulties as well as opportunities living in another county to their homeland. These kids which grow up in foreign lands tend to be offered a completely different view while growing up. Moving around is great for the exposure of children but could lead to a loss of identity. However, this brings up the question; To what extent does moving around affect a child’s growth?

         Having a ‘home’ everywhere can have multiple benefits for the child regarding their growth. They are able to learn about the diverse nature of humans and the cultural differences. They can also learn new languages or develope multiple social skills through these constant switches and have to adjust to the people and environment.There was an interview with five FIB students. These people were Idan, Annie, Isabela, Briana and Aamya. Every single one of them speaks one other language than their mother tongue which they learnt through their time in different places. Living in different places has allowed them to expand themselves in terms of language and socially. Through the constant social engagement, many of them say that they consider themselves friendly and approachable.

         “I haven’t really ever been shy but moving schools has opened up my thoughts and views on certain people which have made me more understanding. I also think that my speaking skills and confidence have risen since my switch [in schools]” – Idan

         Idan has changed schools twice recently and has noticed a change in himself and his social skills. He is now more outspoken and comfortable with more people. As a child, sufficient self-esteem is crucial for mental development or growth as they would have some sort of drive in them to reach an expectation or goal (Roberts, Holly L.). This would allow the child to be more comfortable in trying new things and being outgoing. Children and teenagers often feel nervous to meet new people but moving around and being forced into this situation could improve ones comfort around people. This skill is extremely handy for adults too, if they adopt this tool as a child, they would have no problems in meetings, speeches, interviews and many other social situations.

         “My mom always tells me to make friends with Indian people because she thinks they would have a good influence on me but I don’t make friends based on that” – Aamya

         Amaya is an Indian who has lived in 6 different countries. She thinks that friends should not be based on race. She has a strong respect for different people, cultures, religions. Her enthusiasm about learning about different peoples beliefs, the little habits they have or the superstitions they have because of their culture have interested her throughout her life in multiple countries. She is utterly fascinated by the different accents people have too. Aamya has an open mind towards diverse cultures which is another trait that TCKs develop unconsciously. They meet all these people from different places and begin to understand and connect with many different cultures. TCKs tend to be more understanding towards cultures and tend to not discriminate people based on where they are from, the colour of their skin, their thoughts and beliefs, the food they eat, the cultural habits of people and much more.

         Although moving around allows children many opportunities, it does not enable them to fully identify with a specific country as home. Many of them don’t have a specific culture, country or home they call their own. As a kid, this could be very difficult as they do not fully know or understand themselves as well as their home. Growing up, it is crucial to know yourself in order to develop on that basic identity of where they are from (Benefits and Challenges of TCK Life). When asked where they are from,

         “What my passport says? It says I’m British because both my parents are Scottish but I’ve never lived in Scotland.” Annie replies

        “Well my birthplace is Mumbai” Aamya responds

         The fact that they associated where they’re from with their birthplace and passport instead of how long they have lived there or their family members homes, illustrates their disconnection to where they are from. This is the main question (Where are you from?) people usually have a direct and clear response to, but not for TCKs. They have to think of a few places and which is most officially their homeland.

         Another question I presented to them was ‘Where would you say your home is (what country)’

         Idan says that he thinks his home is Israel but he has lived in Singapore all his life. When I asked why he said

         “First of all I’m Israeli and I genuinely connect with the people in Israel, they are so nice! I also identify with the Jewish culture because of the food I eat and the language I speak [Hebrew].”

         Idan did not think Singapore was his home and instead thought Israel was his home although he has never lived there. The idea of the familiar habits and culture made Idan feel that a country he has never lived in, his home. When asked the same question Annie replies with

         “Well I feel the most at home in Hong Kong because of my strong circle of friends and I had the most fun, and accepted there. Like kind of lived my best life there, but London’s home as well because it gives me a connection to Britain that I don’t feel through Scotland”

         She associated home with how she felt when she lived there and her experiences in Hong Kong. However, she did mention again that her home is what has most connection to where she is from based on her passport even though she has never been there or directly influenced by London. Everybody has their own definition of home and why they think that place or country is their home but TCKs have to identify indirectly because they are not from one place specifically and have been impacted emotionally, mentally, culturally, socially and many more ways which influence how they answer many of these questions. Whether they are impacted beneficially or whether it was a drawback, these children have many more opportunities to discover other places and people even though they have to sacrifice their own identity through the constant switch and loss of personal connection.

Bibliography

TCKWorld: The Official Home of Third Culture Kids (TCKs), www.tckworld.com/tckdefine.html.

Mayberry, Kate. “Capital – Third Culture Kids: Citizens of Everywhere and Nowhere.” BBC, BBC, 18 Nov. 2016, www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161117-third-culture-kids-citizens-of-everywhere-and-nowhere.

“Foreigners Make up 64% of Singapore’s Citizen Population. Should We Panic?” The Singapore Daily, singaporedaily.net/2016/09/28/foreigners-make-64-singapores-population-panic/.

Roberts, Holly L. “Why Self-Esteem Is Important for Children.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, 13 June 2017, www.livestrong.com/article/175620-why-self-esteem-is-important-for-children/.

“Benefits and Challenges of TCK Life.” Expat Child, 24 May 2016, expatchild.com/benefits-challenges-tck/.