Moving to Singapore with kids

Hi,

Moving abroad is an adventure for both parents and children: settling overseas is a challenge for each family member.

How was the move to Singapore for your kids?

How did they manage to adapt to their new environment?

Share with us your experience and advice on settling in Singapore with children.

Thank you in advance,

Priscilla

My daughter was born in Singapore ad thus didn't have adjustment issues (at least not more than any newborn has, coming from the womb into a bewilderingly unknown world). But in gerneral, Singapore isn't the most child-friendly place. There's a lack of outdoor playing opportunities (although some great playgrounds exist), most kids are ferried from appointment to appointment and have no freedom to play and learn on their own (which results in a sore lack of creativity and real-life skills in local kids). Schooling is stressfull and overly results-oriented, with exams starting in kindergarten, and, at least for foreign kids, school fees are expensive.
Many, if not most, foreign kids live in a "bubble" of their own countryfolks and rarely experience the real Singapore. But if they did, at least they would quickly learn a couple of additional languages (all locals are fluently bi- or trilingual from an early age!).
We moved to Europe when she was 2.5 years old and, for the sake of my daughter (who has become a well-rounded personality here) I am glad we did, although her Chinese has surely suffered since then.