TCK: Third Culture Kids

Most kids throughout their childhood move an average of 2-3 times. Usually, they will only have to make new friends a few times, and life is fairly consistent. For the average Army Brat, he or she is forced to move anywhere from 8-12 times throughout their childhood, and making new friends becomes the norm. However, there is one type of childhood that is unlike any other, and that is the life of a TCK, or a Third Culture Kid. TCKs are children that have grown up in one or more cultures that aren’t the same as the one their parents grew up in. Fifty nine percent of Army Brats also qualify as TCKs because one or more parent is on base over seas. These kids spend an average of 8 years abroad, and grow up in countries that aren’t their native ones. As a result, they become accustomed to the foreign country lifestyle. The typical TCK who is also an Army Brat will live in several different countries before they move out of their parent’s house. There are both benefits and drawbacks to this lifestyle, and each child grows up differently.

When I look back at my own life, I have only lived in 2 houses, and they are less than a mile away from each other. I have been apart of a certain neighborhood with people who would take me in as their own if they had to. While I love to travel to other countries, I am so grateful for the feeling of belonging I have in my neighborhood. For TCKs, however, life is completely different. They grow up in cultures that don’t speak their language and cultures that may not understand their way of living. While most kids my age can identify themselves with a specific hometown, TCKs usually can’t, and they don’t really have a place to call home.

On the other hand, TCKs experience a life like no one else. Some would say that having the opportunity to live in several different countries is preferable. Learning about different cultures and experiencing them first-hand allows a child to develop with adaptive skills, which can be very useful in their future. Also, if these kids can be well versed in two or more languages, they already have an advantage over the majority of our youth.

         There is no right or wrong way to grow up, but TCKs are dealt a completely different hand than the average child. 

US Military Bases Around the World