What is it like for a kid to be raised in this way?

Question

I new family just moved into the apartment next to ours. The mother is Danish, the father is Irish and they have 4 kids (two sons and two daughters aged between 5 and 13). They move around to different countries every 3-4 years, partly due to the husband's work and partly due to the fact that they don't like to be in one place too long and want to show their kids the world. The kids are homeschooled and are close to one another. It's sounds really glamorous but what sort of effect does this kind of itinerant upbringing have. Is it harmful or beneficial in the long run? I'm not trying to judge my new neighbours, because they're decent, fun, interesting people, but their life seems unusual.

Answer 1

Really it depends on the family.  For some it would work fine, for others not so much.  Seems to be working for this family (no abuse or isolation going on, those would be my main concerns), so it sounds great.

Answer 2

Personally, I wouldn't do that to my children. They might know more about the world in the end, but children need consistency. If you're moving every three years, it's tough on the kids. I moved about every 2 years to different states while I was growing up, and it was hard. I would finally have good friends, and I got close to them, then I was ripped away from them, not having a choice. They are probably forced to be close to each other. Not that being close to your family is a bad thing, but part of growing up is making new friends, and meeting new people. All of this is according to me and my family though, it might be different for their family. I think that the parents should have traveled the world before they had children.

Answer 3

Wellfor the kids to be traveling that must is stressful in its self,plus the kids can never get used to one place which could be bad because they may have some valuable friendships in some of the places they went to.

Answer 4

I'd say beneficial, but it might be hard for the kids to make friends and then have to move away from the friends they've just made.

I don't know just my guess.

Answer 5

Well, I'm a military kid and was homeschooled my whole life. Sounds a lot the same to me. It's beneficial becuase (at least in my case) I learned to trust and communicate with my parents- we are still very close. Kids in that situation can have social problems, though. I think it's important to get them involved in team sports, church, art clubs etc.