Keeping Kids Connected to Their Roots While Staying Abroad!

Moving abroad has become increasingly popular and common in the past years. Better jobs, better education, better facilities, and a better lifestyle are some of the reasons that get people moving miles away from their homes. Most of the time, it is the better option when you realize that the space you are in at home is not helping you get to where you actually want to be.

Staying in a different country can be challenging and it becomes even more tricky when there are children. Raising them in a country that follows a completely different culture from yours, while ensuring that they still remain connected to their roots is a matter of great concern for several parents.

If you’re an expat parent sharing the same concern, we’re glad you found us. Here are some of the ways in which you can ensure that your little ones stay connected to their culture and traditions while staying abroad.

Encourage Mother Tongue At Home

Language is one of the primary aspects of a culture. When you stay abroad, a majority of your child’s time is spent in an environment where they interact with the locals there. So, it’s only natural for them to pick up on the local language and use it to converse all the time. But when they’re at home with you, use it as an opportunity to promote your mother tongue. They might have an accent while speaking but it’s alright. With practice, comes perfection so keep encouraging them. Learning the new language will enable them to understand better when they converse with their relatives and friends from back home.

Celebrate Festivals

Festivals are a great way to imbibe some traditional values into your children. Make it a point to celebrate important festivals in your culture along with them. Share the historical significance of these days and put an effort to involve them in the activities to be conducted for the day. They may take some time to absorb the activities at the beginning as the people they interact with do not partake in the same things. But soon, they will come to appreciate this difference and take part in the festivities with more enthusiasm. You might even have them bringing home some of their excited friends who have been longing to take part in the celebrations too! Celebrating festivals also ensures that they do not feel alienated when they visit their home country and mingle with the local people for the same events.

If there are local associations in your region that are celebrating the event, take your family there for the day. Food is undoubtedly the best part of any Indian festival. Rope in your children and teach them how to make some of those delicious delicacies that you used to munch on back home.

Movies, Books And Other Art

Art is one of the best ways to teach people something. It has the ability to capture the mind and the soul. Dig up some of those old movies that you used to watch when you were younger and share them with your kids on a movie night. They might find it difficult to follow along with the language at certain parts so you will have to be up for the translation work. Several countries have started to screen international and regional movies at theatres too. You could take your family to a movie there as well. In present times, you can easily get movies on a streaming platform online too. Storybooks and poems are also great materials and they come in handy especially when you want them to learn how to read and write in your language.

Plan A Visit Home

Home is where the heart is. Plan for a visit back to your native place with your family so that your children can meet the rest of your family and learn more about the place where you grew up. While staying abroad, they may have only interacted with a handful of members from the same community as yours so when they visit your native place, they will gain a bigger exposure. Also, they are bound to have some great fun with their cousins during their visit! Even when you get back, make sure they stay connected to the family with regular calls or conferences.

These were just some of the ways in which you can get your children more connected with their roots. It might seem like a daunting task and would require a lot of effort too, but that’s what we are here to help you with.

Introducing Art Gharana – A Gharana For All

At Art Gharana, we take pride in celebrating the diverse culture and values imbibed in our rich Indian heritage. We constantly make an effort to promote the same among people so that they can also share in this joy of what it means to be an Indian.

We provide a platform for individuals to come try their hands at a variety of activities from dancing, singing, painting, playing an instrument to learning about astrology. We bring in the very best experts to teach you so that you can leave with an experience of a lifetime. All our courses are online and they have been meticulously designed to ensure that you not only learn a great deal from them, but you also have an insane amount of fun while you are at it. So go ahead and book your class today!

We look forward to having you as a part of our Gharana.