Letycja Majdaniec

How are children affected when they move around a lot? In today’s globalised world, do
children suffer is the same way as Esperanza did? Are children more adaptable than we
think?

Personally, I feel that children are strongly affected by moving around a lot. Every slight change
can make a big difference for the kid's way of thinking and understanding. They are mostly quite
vulnerable and delicate, and while changes can appear to be advantageous in some cases,
children do not always see this that way. From my experience, I am able to say that moving
changes everything in a small kid's mental health and well being. It is indeed tricky and
challenging for them; they have to learn to adapt to the new place, they need to understand that
every new area has its own features and systems of working, a new city means that people are
going to be slightly different ( especially when we talk about moving to a different country).
Some kids are adaptable to those changes; especially when they are brave and open, still; some
children are rather shy and sensitive when it comes to meeting new people or adapting to new
habits. Esperanza was experiencing difficulties mostly due to social opposition; for me, this is
one of the worst cases, because cultural differences are robust to understand and learn.
In today's globalised world it should be easier to adopt those changes, yet I think that it does
not work that way. New languages, people's diverse ways of thinking and behaving and cultural
contrasts are issues contrary to overcome, even if you are adult, and especially if you are a kid.
Moving to another place, or from place to place can actually be beneficial; kids master new
languages quite fast, and they can see how the world is divergent and colourful. They study
different cultures and societies, nevertheless; it is troublesome for them too. They have to be
strong mentally and have much support form their family in order to feel stable and 'at home' in
the new places. If not; then those changes can and will influence their future life and their way of
cooperating with stress and emotional pressure.