Raising a child in a foreign country?

Although I have never brought  up a child in a foreign country, living on the water ways in a boat with my two children feels like just that.  To move away from a "normal" way of life and start a family was the biggest decision I have ever had to make in my life.
Now that my oldest son Callan is 20 months old the biggest thing that has been going though my mind is how to get him "school ready".  Like most children who are born on the water we have no fixed abode with a postcode and therefore no attachment area to fit into when it comes to mainstream schooling.

A lot of boat families chose to home school their children due to this.  Others are simply not happy with the Educational Authority's way of teaching.
Being a full-time mum, I would be more than happy to home school my children, however, by doing so would I not be completely  cutting them off from society and making them "foreigners" in there home Country? 

Or would I be offering them life changing opportunities that they would not receive if they were integrated into a main stream school and taught the basic National Curriculum.
Knowing how important Education, Training, Communication and Interpersonal relationship skills are.  I have enrolled on a 10 week course at a local children's center in my home town Nuneaton.    The course is based around helping adults improve their Learning and Communication Skills such that they can teach their own children to read and write at home. 

On the course,  I am one of the only parents whose first language is English.
Like most of my friends and family,  a lot of people within the EU and other countries have chosen to live in the UK so that their children can be offered a "FREE" education up until the age of 18 years old.

When I asked some of them why they wanted to bring up their child in the UK their response was "so that they can receive a good education and better employment opportunity", however at the same time none of them wanted their children to lose their heritage or cultural background.  Many of the mothers that I spoke to mentioned that at home they speak their native tongue to their children and teach them native traditions.  Some of the mothers mentioned that they could speak up to two different languages, whereas others like myself, being a 3rd generation Polish immigrant, confessed that they knew very little about the teachings of their "fore fathers" before them.

This, personally, is something that upsets me.  A question I feel that one must ask is "How does one integrate and learn to adapt to life in a foreign Country, but yet maintain their own little part of what previous generations could offer them?"

Living in the UK,  I have noticed how many British Traditions have now been lost due to the UK becoming a mulch-cultural and bilingual society.  This is why I love the thought of home schooling my children and teaching them some British Traditions that are becoming lost.  E.g how to recognize plants along the towpath that are safe to eat, how to weave a basket.

But how practical are these skills in today's society?

Although many traditional skills are slowly making a come back, they are mainly done by women as a hobby as opposed to making a living and making money .  Eg knitting, crocheting and cooking. 

Many local groups can be found in my home town, that are now encouraging the younger generations to learn skills like knitting, that would have originally been taught in a home environment and passed on from mother to daughter.

Today it is having a strong foundation in education that is helping to shape the future generations.  To help them find employment that will hopefully enable them to support themselves and one day there own families.

Yet with out having strong communication skills and being able to speak the language of the country that you chose as your home, it makes education and employment opportunities virtually impossible.

This is something that I personally discovered when I took a gap year to work in the South of France when I was 18 years old.  That just having a basic understanding of High School French was not enough to get me by, when working with people that did not speak a word of English.

What the course which I am currently on has taught us is that children have the amazing ability to adapt and pick up new languages from a very young age compared to adults.  Bearing this in mind in some ways, bringing up a child in a foreign country should not effect any current children that you may have if you were to emigrate with children, instead of waiting to have children once you do so.

This is now something a lot of people are choosing to do, with many schools still having to educate children from a young age who's first language is not English.  Yet can be easily picked up from a young age if encouraged to speak English not just in the class room but at home too.

Living in America
 
Having the 'once in a life' changing opportunity to move to the USA, 15 years ago, my partners brother and his wife  did so before starting a family of their own.  Not knowing what the future held of them they bided their time before having two sons who are now in their teens. both of whom will hopefully pass their SATS and look at attending college, as opposed to GCSE's that we study in the UK.

Uncertanties of employment, which was sponsored by his employer, often left them guessing how long they would be in the USA.  If the work visa lapsed they would literally have been on the next flight home to England.

Knowing that at any time, until a Green Card was issued that they may have to return to the UK.  This made the decision to have a family before a Green card was issued not only a risky one but also an expensive one.  Due to the cost of moving back to the UK being expensive and knowing that if they ever had to do so, it would mean losing a better way of life.

Not just for themselves but for any children that they have in the future.  This is due to the great opportunities that living in the USA has to offer.

E.G. The opportunity to own a bigger house, with land that could enable you to become more self sufficient, with more of a community feel to the area.  This would enable your children to gain key skills in communication, interpersonal relationships and integrate within society.

Compared to the same prices as a semi-detached house in the UK you could have a 5 bedroom house, with 5 acres of land and a barn in the USA.  (depending on location and current property market).

But that does not mean that everyone in the USA is fit, well, healthy, on 30K salaries per year and living in the house of their dreams.  Just like any country in the world there are key underlying issues that one must take into acount when when looking at raising a child in any country.

In the USA they have to worry about things like gun crime, compared to knife attacks in the UK.  They are able to drive from a much younger age than children in the UK, but the drinking age is 21.

Almost every home in the USA has at least one gun if not more in their home.
With Alan's brother he is part of a gun club, shoots in competitions and has taught his two sons from a young age about guns and to have respect and understanding when handling them.  (This is a personal choice)  They also go to scouts and camp where they learn key skills that will help them to become more independent and self sufficient in the future. 

This is something that I want for my two sons, the ablilty to be able to take care of themselves.  In the USA they have 12 weeks off in the Summer that enables them to go to camp(s), if their parents can afford it unlike the 6 weeks we get in the UK.  The other things that are very diffrent in the USA compaired to the UK is the educational and health care that you can receive.

Like any where in the world "You get what you pay for/can afford"  or "What ever the Government can provide/offer you."

When health and wellbeing are so important, I am glad that I live in a country where support is given to the sick, at almost no cost to the indivdual.  But due to this charitable notion massive strains are being put on the NHS.  Now quality and the level of care that can be provided within the UK is being affected and different depending on where in the UK you live. 

E.G You can sometimes get different Cancer treatments in Scotland compared to England due to Scotland being able to pick their own way of providing medical treatment to the public.

The waiting times for accesssing services such as mental health is almost up to three months to receive any support or guidance.  Most of the services that are provided are ran by charities like MIND, who again will only offer support to people that live in a certain catchment area only due to the funding that they receive from the Governerment or other avenues like the National Lottery Funding.

In the USA if you can afford to pay you can be seen by a doctor or therapest ASAP.  All medical bills must be paid including bringing a child into the world, before they are even able to raise them.  That is one of the benefits of living in the UK that I am glad of.  Due to still having the NHS, no matter how Privatised parts of it have become.  If I had, any complications during my pregnancies, E.G like needing a caesarian I would have had to have paid for it.  At present, the cost of a Caesarian would cost around £5,000 which in the States you would be expected to cover all of that cost yourself.

This is why when Alan's Brother moved to the USA, he was relieved that the company that he worked for offered, a health benefit package, that covered things like dental costs and braces for the children.  Most companies/employers in the USA will offer certain medical cover and insurances with your wages, but things like JSA, and family support are limited and vary, depending on what state you live in.

This is why some of my friends and family from Poland have chosen to live in the UK and raise a family.  In order to receive better health benefits for their children and enable them to be educated in a SEN School. (Specai Educational Needs)  I have learned recentley that in Poland that children tend to start school when they are around 7 years old as opposed to 5 years old in the UK.

Personally I do not have a problem with this, or feel that it many hinder their ablity to learn, since most education is normally done in the home and not necessarily in the classroom when you look at the amount of holidays that children at schools age take anually and home work that they are expected to do.

With regards to children that require SEN support, in Poland it is something that is limited, with some disabilities not recognised like Autism.  My friend's son will soon be in his teens tried to explain to me that by living in the UK despite the level of racism that she receives on her door step it is her sons well being that she works to provide for.  With charities and SEN schooling in the UK, the amount of doors that have been opened to her son to imporove his development goals are more than what he would have received if they lived in Poland.

Hopefully enabling him in time, to choose further education, with additional support in the classroom provided or to gain employment in the future.  This is something that the UK have been pushing for a number of years now, to get people into work where ever possible despite any disabilities they may have.

Bringing up children has become a lot more easier to do now that the UK is part of the EU.  The ablity to to find employment in low paid zero hours is currently on the rise, paying more in pounds than in Euros.  The ability to own a home in Poland is cheaper than in the UK, so some of my firends have chosen to rent a room in a shared house and ship the money back to Poland to help pay for their mortgage whilst claiming benefits though the Inland Revenue due to the current laws that we have in the UK that allow them to do this.
This is another reason why I have looked at moving overseas when my children are "school ready", or possibly buying a house abroad due to the cost of owning a home in the UK currently impossible, it woud be a strong nest egg for the future if the ability to become a home owner could become a reality.  For once you own your own home the cost of living becomes cheaper and less stressful. 

Living on the boat means that we are technically "homeowners", you can not get a boat mortgage, so most people buy outright unless they choose to boat share.  We have chosen this way of life in the hope that one day we will own our own home and that our children will learn something by doing this.

As a parent I would love my children to achive greatness and to not work in a low paid and under privileged job, but to aspire to do more with their lives.  So having a strong education will help to achieve this.

But with the constant changes in the educational system and technology replacing things like books (kindle), I phones replacing the ability to write and text messaging changing the English language ( u cumin out 2 nite?)  I worry about what the future may have install for my children.

So would where they are brought up really effect their way of life?
I guess only time will tell,  After all the future is in their hands.