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Immigration, Kids Feel It Too!
An Interview with an Expert
Research Shows
Resources and Funding
Kids interacting with Kids

Childs Block Rotating

Adjustment takes EFFORT
 
(even for kids)
 
 
 
A common misconception:              

  Immigrant parents often feel that their children have an easier time adjusting to the new culture than they do. They falsely believe that children will quickly pick up the new language and effortlessly fit in with their peers while the adults are struggling to find jobs and maintain a decent standard of living. The truth is that kids struggle just as much to fit into their world as adults do to settle into theirs. The following is a list of problems that immigrant children face when socializing into a new culture:
  •        Learning a new language
  •        Making new friends
  •         A completely new and different environment
  •         Difference in values at home and at school
  •         Poorly run ESL programs
  •         Low socio-economic status
  •         Role-reversal (taking on the role of the adult)
  •         Feeling responsible for parental sacrifices
  •         Lack of parental supervision during the day due to parents having to work long hours
  •     Separation from extended family

  The key is for the parents of immigrant children to communicate with educators and other professionals working with their kids in order to create an environment that promotes cultural diversity, acceptance of individual differences and provides a support network to which these kids can turn to if they are having trouble.

  The foreign-born population in the United States has increased 57 percent since 1990 to a total of 30 million.  While immigrants from all over are spread throughout the United States, there are certain urban centers, which have very large immigrant communities. These include but are not limited to New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Miami. For the purpose of consistency most of the data used to substantiate the statements made in this newsletter was taken from observations of immigrant groups in New York City.

  The mission of this newsletter is to make parents of immigrant children aware of the difficulties that the children face when socializing into a new culture/society. This newsletter serves to educate the parents of immigrant children on how they can make the transition easier for their offspring. The information presented is intended to show immigrant parents as well as professionals working with immigrant children, how they can work together to create a learning environment that is conducive to the adjustment of children who have been uprooted from their native homes and thrust into a new society.

The intention is to dispel the myth that adjustment comes easier to children than it does to adults. This misconception leads to many of the problems that plague immigrant children in this day and age. Hopefully, the options presented will make it easier for immigrant parents to communicate with their children and create an atmosphere for positive development.

 
 
Kids socializing; the need for friendship is prevalent in every culture.