Shard

Never been to Bristol, actually. I guess there must be pockets of "you're not one of us" across the UK.

Shard

These are good points. Although it does seem to depend on the individual personalities of the children too. You hear stories of families with 2-3 kids, and each kid has a different readiness to adapt. The rule of thumb seems to be the, the younger the easier.

suzeandmatt

Haha unfortunately not. Call someone from Sunderland a Geordie and you’ll be in a lot of trouble.
As I got older I moved to “nicer” parts of Newcastle/Tyneside where by people weren’t hugely bothered by that sort of thing. So much so that I thought it had died a death and people actually weren’t so narrow minded.
However, my brother lives in a very questionable part of Tyneside still and his childhood friend came to visit him wearing a Sunderland football shirt- he didn’t make it down the street without being mugged and having his car broken into- so unfortunately it still very much exists.- and this was 2 weeks ago.
It astounds me but- moving from Sunderland to Newcastle I couldn’t in a million years tell my peers where I was actually from literally due to fear of the reaction.
But- like I say, kids adapt. And are tougher than people give them credit for! :-)
Though fortunately I think it’s a bit of the opposite here and you become quite the novelty being British! Haha

MarylandNed

The younger the better. Ours were moved around when they were really young and the oldest was only 4 when we made our last move. 8 and 10 is still quite young but there's a huge difference between 4 and 8/10. Normally I would say that that you will likely face challenges that I didn't. However, the fact that they are already familiar with Ontario and have grandparents and cousins that they already know means they'll probably take to the move like ducks to water.

HGerchikov

Ours were 9 and 5 when we came, as others have said the younger the better and I had no concerns at all about the 5 year old. I was a bit anxious about the older one but he settled in straight away and the lifestyle here really suited him. I agree with the comment earlier in the thread about the children picking up on the parent's mood. If you act like its no big deal they will likely see it the same way.

Warwickshireboy

I would be one of those kids.

I moved here when I was almost six, and have never felt at home or adjusted in Canada. I am autistic, which definitely plays a part in this. The main thing I would say is if you're a community of extended family/friends behind make sure you establish a community in Canada. My parents are very reserved people, and content with each others company. A naturally social child probably would have been fine, but as I am awkward and autistic, I couldn't find a community by myslef. This lead me to be very isolated growing up and sorely miss my extended family, where I had a place and was "one of them". I provide the details so to say that I am a unique case. A combination of factors have lead me not to settle well, and it's really nothing to do with Canada and everything to do with being isolated.

MillieF

We moved here when my son was 11 and had just finished Primary school and was going into grade 6. The first year was a bit of a tough and unhappy time, we had discussed it so he was expecting a big change... The school curriculum here wasn't at all challenging and he was bored. There's not much of a shifting population here either so most of the kids had known each other since the year dot.

We tried Basketball and gymnastics at first, but again, the kids had known each other forever and weren't about to welcome an implant. Then after six months he hit the magic 12 and was able to join Air Cadets, which he loved from the word go, a mix of boys and girls from different schools and therefore lots of chance to make friends. His confidence grew and, it hasn't been without the odd hiccup, but generally (he's in 11th grade now) he is happy, confident and doing his best, which is all I can ask. He still has a British accent...bizzare because he's never lived in Britan! He still identifies himself as European and Canadian.

I really would advise getting kids into clubs that they are interested in, be it Boy Scouts, the local theatre group, roadrunners, any of the Cadets - Air, Sea or Army -whatever, the more chances they have to mix with people who are not just sitting in their class the more chances they will have to make friends they have something in common with.

It isn't instant, and you can't make it OK, but you can certainly smooth the way and listen to their fears.

Very, very best of luck

slevers

Anya, my kids were young when they moved over but I know know a few families with children who moved closer you your childrens' ages. The accent and sounding different is hard, some words are different (eg eraser for rubber). A lot depends on the child's personality and adaptability. I think you are moving from the UK, expect the kids to be unchallenged, although this massively ramps up I believe from age 12. If they have current interests ( martial arts, dance, gym, football) try an maintain it because it's easier to be a big fish in a little pond. But also your friend group is likely to be small to start so try and do things like camping, skating, skiing whatever interests you, together.. they need to see theirfamiliy adapting and going through it together! Good luck it can be so hard, a real rollercoaster ..

Anya121

I just wanted to say thank you to all who have posted in response to my question. I've been reading all of these as you've posted they are all really helpful. The big things I take away from these messages are keep positive and help the kids get involved in community groups or invite school friends over to the house to help them make new friends and feel settled. Great advice. Thank you very much to all of you. Very much appreciated!