Raising Global Children

For more than a decade, I’ve been on a mission to help more Americans develop a global mindset. Each year I had felt that progress was being made as I learned of K-12 schools adding language courses, more college students studied abroad, and more companies included cross-cultural skills and global mobility as requisites to being hired. I watched as more Americans began to understand the global supply chain when the pandemic interrupted the delivery of goods from medical equipment to chips used in almost every type of electronic.

But the past few months have seriously disappointed and alarmed me as I see a country turning away from the world. The rationale given doesn’t make any sense given that embracing, understanding and leading the world is much better economically for the US. Federal cuts to USAID, slashing of funding for international education, and creating fear in international students studying on campuses across the country will have an adverse impact on our economy – and our standing in the world.

If you’re bothered by this abrupt turn of events, we can do something about it. We play the long game and help our children prepare to live, work and excel in the interconnected world we live in. We must inspire our children to be curious about the world and to become globally aware. We must teach our children to appreciate, communicate and interact with people across different cultures and in other countries — and that includes learning another language as early as possible and studying abroad if feasible. As our children become adults, going off to college or into the workforce, we must help them apply these skills so they can whether they’re in business, manufacturing, engineering, government or education.  

You may be asking, how exactly do we do these things? Here’s a list of 10 things families can do to help ensure that the next generation develops an open mind so that they can understand and collaborate with people around the world. 

1. Commit to helping the young people in your life develop a global mindset

A global mindset is the ability to appreciate and understand diverse cultures and perspectives, enabling effective communication and collaboration in the interconnected world we live in. The ubiquity of technology and constant communication requires having the skills that are critical to living and working across cultures. As 21st century global workers, our children will need a global mindset to succeed in every job no matter where they live.

2. Encourage the development of the soft skills critical to cross-cultural competence

Global awareness is not just a knowledge of geography, speaking another language and having traveled the world. It begins with the basics — things EVERY parent can teach a child. Skills such as patience and the ability to wait and watch before rushing to conclusions or decisions have clear links to global success, and are among the top skills identified by many researchers as being crucial to a global mindset. Encourage your child to be curious and interested in the world so that they will be motivated to learn about it. The ability to carefully listen and observe is essential for learning new information, as well as being able to understand and relate to people around you. Having these skills leads to empathy and flexibility, two more critical soft skills identified as important to a global mindset. Encouraging independence and calculated risk-taking by balancing reasonable concern for safety helps children learn to make mistakes and learn from them. We must avoid the overprotection trap so as to inspire them to explore the world — not be afraid of it.

3. Provide a solid grounding in your home culture

For children to be comfortable in the world, they must feel comfortable at home within their own culture. Having a strong grounding in one’s home culture enables the interpretation of another culture in comparison to one’s own. It’s important to note that part of this basic cognitive and psychosocial development is a well-studied process of growing awareness that proceeds outward gradually from child to immediate family, then to extended family and community, on to nation and eventually to the entire world. 

4. Make learning another language a priority

Learning a language is more than just communicating. It helps one learn about another culture and enables us to cross cultural bounds more easily by appreciating and understanding difference. It also enhances cognitive abilities. Research has proven that it makes one “smarter” and enhances math, science and even native language abilities. It can also help people get jobs and fast-track careers. But it takes time to learn another language; it doesn’t happen in a few years in high school or college. Make it a top priority and help your children learn a language at school or at home through online tools and books and to support and advocate for language programs in school, beginning as early as kindergarten.

5. Take advantage of the vast resources at your local library to bring the world into your home

The library is a treasure trove of books, maps, music, movies, magazines and helpful librarians. And it’s free. Libraries are a valuable resource for families looking for ways to bring the world into their home.

6. Have fun with global food, music, books, art, museum exhibits and friends

Cultural exposure doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It needs to be incorporated into an individual’s lifestyle, mindset and belief system. Make exposing your children to other cultures an aspect of everyday life. The rich excitement of new cultures, the smells and tastes of foods, the colors and drama of art, the shapes of stories, and rhythms of music engage children’s senses. And those fulfilling sensual encounters teach children that the new and different can be wonderful rather than scary and strange. In turn, such happy experiences build curiosity and appetite for other cross-cultural experiences and adventures, the cumulative effect of which is that the child is eventually able to function fearlessly as a global adult.

7. Host an exchange student in your home

Although some international students are reconsidering whether they want to study in the US due to the current environment, the channels haven’t been closed. Opening up your home to a foreign high school student is one of the best and most cost-efficient ways to learn about another culture. Student exchange programs identify and pair teenagers from around the world with host families so that they can get a taste of what daily life is like in the U.S. Hosting an exchange student — or a teacher — can bring the world into your home without costing you much at all.

8. Travel with your children as a fun yet educational way to broaden their minds

Given the great cultural diversity that can be found here in the U.S., it’s not actually necessary to leave the U.S. to have an authentic global experience. When you travel with children, they are out there observing and experiencing things first hand. It’s as much about the journey as it is the destination. If you do go abroad, children will see that the world is made up of many different people, speaking many different languages, practicing many different religions and doing common, everyday things — such as eating, working, socializing — in many different ways. It’s not just about visiting a site to say you’ve been there. The benefits include appreciation for other cultures and customs, countering or preventing prejudices, boosting self-awareness and self-esteem, learning that different isn’t bad and possibly even being inspired to learn another language.

9. Encourage your child to study, work and/or do an internship abroad at some point in their academic career

One of the most important skills a student gains from studying abroad is cross-cultural aptitude, the ability to appreciate different cultures and solve problems while operating in a different environment. Employers increasingly seek workers who have both cross-cultural skills and cutting-edge technical skills, but it can be difficult for recent graduates to get international experience. Encourage your child to study, work and/or do an internship abroad at some point in his or her academic career. This could include exchange programs while in secondary school, mission trips, a gap year or an official study abroad in college.

10. Advocate increasing global awareness/education and foreign language learning in your child’s school

Parents should not have to do it alone. You can insist upon more cultural education in our school systems so that our children understand and are better prepared to deal with the complexities outside our borders in whatever career they choose. You can insist upon foreign language learning in our schools by kindergarten in order to give our kids a fighting chance to become proficient in at least one other language. You must support our teachers who embrace the importance of global education.

Global parenting is a mindset; it can take place anywhere and under any circumstances. By taking a proactive role in enhancing your child’s global awareness, you can teach them to understand and deal with the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Plus it’s fun!

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