The International Schools Review Forum

Do those of you who are teaching overseas have any opinions as to the best age for children in making the move? We are a teaching couple with a two year-old son. Might it be more advantageous for us to wait until he is of kindergarten age so he can attend school with us, or have many of you been able to find decent daycare or pre-K services at your posts?

As a teacher's kid, I moved overseas when I was in second grade. At that age, the school ended up being my day care as my folks and I were on the same campus. It worked out great. I now have kids, second and fifth grade and am considering going back over in two years. At that point they'll not only be old enough to do something similar, but old enough to appreciate the experience.

Many locations will have hired help that become your day care. It can be expensive, depending on where you are. In Singapore at SAS, many young families hired an amah to take care of their kids once the Mom returned from maternity.

When we taught in Saudi - it was GREAT for young children. Saudi law stipulated that workplaces which employed women had to provide daycare (not necessarily pay for it, but provide the opportunity) AND if the mother was nursing, time and a space to nurse. Our infant daughter was on the same campus, a terrific principal arranged my schedule so that my preps would serve as nursing periods, and only twice during the school year did the careworkers have to contact me and have me come and give an "emergency nurse" - but when they did call, someone covered my class and I was able to go to her. It was a terrific atmosphere for us to work in and inspired great loyalty. I don't know if things remain the same there - they aren't that way in other Gulf countries - but schools that provide daycare prove, I believe, that they truly care about entire families.

Thanks so much for the responses. I have noticed that a number of schools have pre-K classes which would be perfect for our situation. We may be a bit confined to choose only those schools which offer tuition reimbursement or significant tuition discount, however. Tuition at these schools can have a huge effect on a family's ability to save which is one of the reasons (albeit not the only one) why we are considering overseas teaching. I hope that most schools do offer tuition reimbursement for faculty member's children. Otherwise we would have to take the hit financially or find some other school in the area that may have an English program--not a tempting offer....

I had a couple of great nannies that cooked and cleaned as well. Much cheaper option than what we had in the states. Kids became bilingual too.