One of the readers asked about how kids are coping up after R2I here: http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2012/06/reflecting-year-of-r2i.html
I have covered this topic here before http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2012/01/kids-settling-down-in-india-after-r2i.html
But, let me recapture some of the latest updates on the kids front...
I guess I am the first one to make this up but guess it is worth the say - "You can take the kid out of US but you can't take US out of the kid" :-). Substitute your country of choice in-place of US! Not too surprising indeed since after looking at a much more sophisticated, well-behaved society, it is bit hard to adjust to a environment where things are set back by few years. If you grew up in India, it is hard to see thru' the eyes of the kids who are born outside of India.
Here was one interesting note from our 6 year old - after coming back from school he said he doesn't like Bangalore. When asked why, he said 'people here drive thru' red light'!!! He was reflecting on the lack of orderliness which we miss as R2I as well but for them it is hard to understand why such things happen here and some sort of negative feeling develops. Unfortunately, you can't do much about it.
But, there are many, many positive things we have seen - my first one is asking about our family connection each time we meet one of our closer family members. 6 year old is 'surprised' to find out that he has '2 grandpas, 2 grandmas, 4 uncles, 3 aunts etc etc. Don't think that kind exposure would have happened being at US and with a month of visit every other year. They are happy to meet and play with their cousins, which happens at least couple of times a year now.
Choice of international school and selection of language definitely made a difference. They are doing very well in school (being in top 3 in the class, getting above 90% score, getting some medals in sports etc). Older ones will complain a bit about the amount of writing required, which is bit more than what is expected in US. The crowd at school made a big difference since many of them are R2I kids as well. Also, many of the teachers in the school are much more used to dealing with such kids, which makes a difference as well. However, one catch - international schools are definitely on the expensive side. Unless your kid is very flexible and outgoing, plan of starting them at an international school and switching to another regular school in 1 or 2 years doesn't work - kids will have a good friend circle and will resist the move.
Teaching approach wise, Indian schools are changing as well, even though they are not at par with US schools. There are many hands-on projects, reports to be done with pictures etc. Tests don't require too much of 'mugging' since many questions are objective type. At the end of the day, we haven't seen kids being depressed or in a 'not able to handle' type of situation. The environment is much more competitive since there is lot of parent time that is being put in from all of the parents.
Health is bit of challenge - they do fall sick bit more often. Hope that improves in bit of a time. They do eat much more fruits, drink more juice etc - guess it is the weather that helps.
Hope I have answered some of the questions you folks have about kids. Pls feel free to drop a comment if you have questions/concerns...
I have covered this topic here before http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2012/01/kids-settling-down-in-india-after-r2i.html
But, let me recapture some of the latest updates on the kids front...
I guess I am the first one to make this up but guess it is worth the say - "You can take the kid out of US but you can't take US out of the kid" :-). Substitute your country of choice in-place of US! Not too surprising indeed since after looking at a much more sophisticated, well-behaved society, it is bit hard to adjust to a environment where things are set back by few years. If you grew up in India, it is hard to see thru' the eyes of the kids who are born outside of India.
Here was one interesting note from our 6 year old - after coming back from school he said he doesn't like Bangalore. When asked why, he said 'people here drive thru' red light'!!! He was reflecting on the lack of orderliness which we miss as R2I as well but for them it is hard to understand why such things happen here and some sort of negative feeling develops. Unfortunately, you can't do much about it.
But, there are many, many positive things we have seen - my first one is asking about our family connection each time we meet one of our closer family members. 6 year old is 'surprised' to find out that he has '2 grandpas, 2 grandmas, 4 uncles, 3 aunts etc etc. Don't think that kind exposure would have happened being at US and with a month of visit every other year. They are happy to meet and play with their cousins, which happens at least couple of times a year now.
Choice of international school and selection of language definitely made a difference. They are doing very well in school (being in top 3 in the class, getting above 90% score, getting some medals in sports etc). Older ones will complain a bit about the amount of writing required, which is bit more than what is expected in US. The crowd at school made a big difference since many of them are R2I kids as well. Also, many of the teachers in the school are much more used to dealing with such kids, which makes a difference as well. However, one catch - international schools are definitely on the expensive side. Unless your kid is very flexible and outgoing, plan of starting them at an international school and switching to another regular school in 1 or 2 years doesn't work - kids will have a good friend circle and will resist the move.
Teaching approach wise, Indian schools are changing as well, even though they are not at par with US schools. There are many hands-on projects, reports to be done with pictures etc. Tests don't require too much of 'mugging' since many questions are objective type. At the end of the day, we haven't seen kids being depressed or in a 'not able to handle' type of situation. The environment is much more competitive since there is lot of parent time that is being put in from all of the parents.
Health is bit of challenge - they do fall sick bit more often. Hope that improves in bit of a time. They do eat much more fruits, drink more juice etc - guess it is the weather that helps.
Hope I have answered some of the questions you folks have about kids. Pls feel free to drop a comment if you have questions/concerns...
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