Third Culture Kid

What is the Third Culture Kid?

The Third Culture Kid (TCK) or third culture children are infants who have grown up with a culture different from that of their parents or that which would correspond to them by the nationality of their passport. This fact, even in the country where they are legally considered native, makes them feel strange. This could also occur in adults, in what is known as Adult Third Culture Kid.

At the beginning, the Third Culture Kid is exposed to an environment with various cultural influences, which generates a feeling of insecurity.

This problem occurs in children who live for short periods of time with a culture and before they are able to integrate and make it their own, they move to another place.

The three cultures to which we refer are:

1. The culture of the parents’ country.
2. The culture of the country where their family currently resides.
3. The amalgam of the two previous ones.

The migratory movements of these families involve the children in various linguistic immersions, through which they become bilingual or multilingual. These migrations also turn them into cultural chameleons. However, they do not have a cultural identity that identifies them and that they feel is their own.

The main cases in which TCK can occur are:

• Children who have lived or studied abroad.
• Children who have immigrated from their country.
• Children who have been adopted by a foreign family.

The Third Culture Kid (TCK) or third culture children are infants who have grown up with a different culture than their parents or the one that would correspond to them by the nationality of their passport.

Why is Third Culture Kid treatment performed?

These children should undergo psychological treatment in order to develop an attachment to a culture and feel that they belong to it. This will help them increase their self-esteem and self-confidence. Rooting will allow them not to experience confusion about who they are.

It can be beneficial for these children to see a psychologist, as the specialist can establish guidelines for the parents and routines for the child to help normalize the situation.

What does the treatment consist of?

The psychologist will provide the patient with a space in which to process and organize his or her thoughts. The treatment consists of working together with the parents to make the child feel part of the culture in which he/she lives. In order to achieve this, it is essential to take the following factors into account:

• Home: it is the place where he/she will live, so it must be a pleasant and conciliatory environment in which he/she will grow up happy.
• Educational center: just like at home, it is a place where you will spend many hours during the week. For this reason, special attention should be paid when choosing the most appropriate one.
• Close environment: children’s identity is built from the relationships they establish with other people. Parents should advise them to create bonds of friendship with like-minded people.
• Importance of saying goodbye: if the child is forced to change residence or school, he/she should have the opportunity to say goodbye to his/her circle of friends. They should be able to express what they feel and not repress their emotions.
• Active listening: be the child’s confidant whenever he/she needs it. It is more important to know how to listen than to have the solution to his problem. By being able to unburden himself, he will feel comforted.

How does it affect the child cognitively and emotionally?

TCKs demonstrate more maturity than children who are not subjected to such geographic and cultural changes. However, these infants may present several depressive episodes, as well as stress every time they are forced to change location. The reason is that with each move they leave many things behind and when they settle in the new home they feel helpless and out of place.