# Expats find raising children more challenging in the Middle East



## Editor (Aug 20, 2009)

Expats raising children in the Middle East face a more challenging environment that those living and working in other parts of the world, a survey has found. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are the most challenging, according to the HSBC 2012 Expat Explorer survey, ranking in the bottom half of this the [...]

Click to read the full news article: Expats find raising children more challenging in the Middle East...
Please come back to discuss the story here in this thread.


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Just browsed through the article and it seems pretty accurate. Unless you are paid a heck of a lot of money to afford a nanny for each child, raising children in this region is extremely challenging.

The ones who can afford the nannies, leave the raising kids part to them!


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

no nanny - no need for a nanny - no problem.

not finding it particularly harder than at home.

perhaps being used to bringing up children several hundred miles away from grandparents helps. No 'free' babysitting for us!

In fact, i find it far easier to keep them away from commercial TV (advertisements during kids TV should be banned) as we don't subscribe to any package, and just watch the BBC.

yes, you have to pay for schools, but we were likely going to be forced down that route in the UK, given the quality of the local high school.

social interaction? no problem - they play with their friends. It's not hard - really!
TV watching is down compared to the UK - not up!


----------



## terdubai (Feb 15, 2012)

Interesting article. I agree that there is much less of the "go outside and play" than we had in the US. Our school, though, has tons of activities outside the school day that keep the kids occupied and involved. Many of them are low cost or free. Without these I would have a much harder time keeping them suitably occupied. Also I find we have much more family time here, since our weekends are not full of home repairs, cleaning, and errands. There are pros and cons to each!


----------



## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

I also feel the same way in regards to the political unrest in this part of the world. I would say that instability is my major concern nowadays. Raising kids is a different story. I know couples who returned because of the quality of education that their kids were getting when they ve got to the 5th grade. Education is not equal, but I might be mistaken.

Integration is always an issue and faced by many everywhere specially immigrants and since we are all immigrants sort of speak...it is also up to the parents to help on the integration process of their children. Invite ppl over it is as simple as that.

The weather affects a lot. We do tend to stay at home due to the heat, but nothing impedes ppl to invite folks over and over again.


----------



## lorena2405 (Mar 12, 2013)

*Raising kids in Dubai alone*

Hello, my name is Lorena and I am Greek. 
My husband has a really good job offer in Dubai and we are seriously considering accepting it. The plan is for me to move there after 1 year, and raise our children (20month old son today and currently expecting our 2nd baby). However, the job that he was offered includes travelling Monday-Friday. 
So it is one of our major concerns if I will be able to move to Dubai and raise our kids, while being alone most of the time. Has anyone a similar experience? Is it hard for a woman to do that in Dubai?


----------

