Transcontinental Overload

17. Parental guilt, expat bias and the joys of moving with teenagers - with Laura Anderson

October 31, 2020
Transcontinental Overload
17. Parental guilt, expat bias and the joys of moving with teenagers - with Laura Anderson
Show Notes

Today, I'm joined by Dr. Laura Anderson, child and family psychologist with her own multicultural background.  Dr. Anderson specializes in global families, adoptive families and those raising gender expansive children and adolescents, as well as treating children and teens suffering from anxiety and depression. 
The range of topics we cover in our conversations are so valuable and interesting to all parents, not only global families, and if you are the parent of a teenager, or a pre-teen, I'd highly recommend listening!

A big topic we talk about is parental guilt, as added mobility and options always lead to a rise in feelings of guilt and fear. We discuss how you can avoid falling into that trap, and a "recipe" (27:50) for more successful transitions, using the following ingredients:

  • child input
  • preparation / preparedness
  • acceptance of discomfort / grief, loss, fear
  • sense of being in this together
  • maintaining boundaries: no decisions out of guilt or fear

The book we mention is Raising Global Teens, by Dr. Anisha Abraham, a practical handbook for parenting in the 21st century.

If you'd like to find out more about Dr. Anderson, visit her website, or find her Common Chord Psychology page on Facebook.   

Laura Anderson