Third culture kids: growing up between countries
What 'third culture kid' means, the strengths and challenges of an internationally mobile childhood, and how families and schools can help children thrive.
Children who grow up moving between countries are often called third culture kids (TCKs). The term was coined by sociologist Ruth Hill Useem in the 1950s. It describes children who build a sense of belonging from a mix of their parents’ culture and the cultures they live in, and who often feel most at home with other internationally mobile people.
Many pupils at British international schools are TCKs, and schools that understand this support them much better.
Common strengths
- Adaptability: comfortable in new situations and quick to read a new environment.
- Languages: often bilingual or multilingual.
- Cultural intelligence: a natural ability to see things from different perspectives.
- Independence and confidence in travelling and meeting new people.
Common challenges
- “Where are you from?” can be a hard question to answer.
- Repeated goodbyes: friends move on, or the child does, again and again. This can lead to unresolved grief.
- Rootlessness: feeling a stranger in the passport country, especially when returning “home”.
- Relationships: some TCKs make friends quickly but find it harder to sustain deep, long-term friendships.
How families can help
- Talk about moves openly, before, during and after. Involve children in the process where possible.
- Say good goodbyes. Leaving well (visiting favourite places, saying goodbye to people, keeping mementoes) helps children arrive well.
- Keep some constants: family routines, traditions, belongings that travel with you.
- Maintain links with the home country and language through visits, family and media.
- Validate feelings. Excitement and sadness can coexist.
What good schools do
- Structured induction for new arrivals, with buddy systems.
- Leaving programmes for students and families who are moving on.
- Pastoral staff who understand transition and identity issues.
- Attention to students who stay while friends leave. “Stayers” also experience loss.
The return “home”
Returning to the passport country can be the hardest move of all. Read our guide to returning to a UK school, and see also the moving abroad checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What is a third culture kid?
A third culture kid (TCK) is a child who spends a significant part of their developmental years outside their parents' home culture. They build a 'third culture' drawing on both their heritage and the places they have lived.
Is moving often bad for children?
Not inherently. Many TCKs develop strong adaptability, language skills and empathy. The challenges, such as repeated goodbyes and questions of identity, are real, but families and schools that talk about them openly can help children manage them well.