Today, I have a guest post from Lauren Roberts. Over and over again, I’ve gotten questions about how kids enjoy or handle long-term travel. Lauren is a self-described ‘expat brat,’ and was kind enough to write about the results of her travel experiences.

Good schools want well-rounded all-stars. Your kids’ best bet? Pack your bags and cross an ocean. Ignore the tantrums for now.

It doesn’t matter which way you go — you’ll save on summer camp fees either east or west. Back home, Suzy Soccer Mom is shuttling her kids to Spanish Camp and ‘Young Leaders of Tomorrow’ conferences. Out in the real world, these skills — and many more — are things expat kids pick up for free.

Of any myriad benefits gained overseas, I’ll focus on three:

1. Your family itself:
   Gone is constructed family bonding time. In its place – real life. Replacing wider support networks with just each other means that – through it all – you’re all you’ve got. Holidays are concentrated. Where mundane errands now promise absolute adventures, in Soccer Mom’s place is a full Survivor team.
2. Comfortable anywhere:
   ‘Travel’ no longer means an 20-something backpacking trip. It’s an addictive, compulsive form of life. Where a make-camp-break-camp habit might follow, expat kids are known for an easy ability to think on their feet and adapt to their surroundings.
3. The world shrinks:
   “How’s Singapore?” Friends ask when they mean Shanghai. Common mistakes – yet ones your own children will never make. ‘Cultural chameleonism’ and corollary foreign language abilities acquired while growing up global are a rich education that sticks for life.

When a ‘normal’ friend confided in me during our last term at university – I reeled to think what we had in common. After living at home through his undergrad years, law school meant the end of mummy’s cooking. He was going so far away he couldn’t come home every weekend — probably just every other. He didn’t think he could handle it.

Despite tears (and outrageous phone bills), children who’ve grown up overseas deftly handle change and, yes, hundreds of goodbyes. While our adolescent years hold a lifetime of miles, I’ve anecdotally found my expat peers to have a more mature sense of self. We’ve coped with upheavals and unknowns from an early age – and expect to emerge wiser, with a few good stories. My fearful friend just wanted things to stay the same. The expat kid knows they never will – and craves change and challenge all the more.

Whether it’s your toddler’s tantrums or teenager’s threat that put you off – they’ll thank you later.

A textbook expat brat, Lauren has her parents to thank for champagne tastes and obscene air fare costs. She’s a freelance travel copywriter based in Vancouver (this month, at least). You can find more about Lauren at her blog, ballywick.com/blog.