# How to tell kids under 10 about moving to Dubai



## Ozpat (Dec 12, 2010)

Hi all
We have just been given the green light on an expat assignment to Dubai for the next couple of years. We have 2 boys aged 5 and 9 that we now need to tell.

I think the 5 year old will handle it ok, but will look to his older brother for how to react. If his brother reacts badly, then so will he.

His older brother is very conservative, somewhat shy and I think will be _very _upset about leaving his school, his friends, some of his pets and his comfort zone as a whole.

Can any parents out there give me any advice about how you told your children about your international move? I'm so nervous about this as it will shape the whole way they deal with the transition...

In case it's relevant, we are from Queensland Australia and the assignment will probably be for a couple of years.
Thanks in advance


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

Not sure if our case is relevant...

We have an 8 year old boy, but he was born internationally so he has already lived in 4 countries by now. Each time we moved, we started by "casually" showing him interest things about the new country (i.e. Pyramids for Egypt, Burj Khalifa in Dubai - world tallest building, indoor ski in Dubai, etc) to get him excited and gauge his reaction.

Most of the time he got excited and showed interest in seeing in person, then we start the approach about "going" there to see it, then gradually about "moving" there. Etc. A gradual process to get him interested and on-board while gauging his reaction.

When we felt he was worried about leaving friends, etc, we backed off a while and re-approach the subject when he felt more positive.

Everyone is different, that is just the approach we used with ours so do not know how it will work with other children - our case is also different that he is already quite used to the moving process since he was younger.

Good luck!


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