How to Support A Homesick Child While Traveling or Living Overseas
Homesickness can sneak up on anyone—especially kids—even in the middle of an exciting family adventure or while adjusting to a new life overseas.
As parents, it’s easy to feel frustrated when your carefully planned trip is met with complaints from a homesick child about missing home. I too have experienced feeling annoyed when my child complained about boredom and wanting to go home while we were on the beautiful beaches of Hawaii. But, homesickness is a natural response to change, and how we support our children through it can make a big impact.
As a mom, world traveler, and social worker, I’ve seen firsthand how homesickness can affect kids, no matter how exciting the adventure. Here’s how to navigate these moments with empathy, connection, and strategies to help your child thrive wherever you are.
1. Acknowledge Their Feelings, Even If They Don’t Make Sense
Homesickness can feel illogical—especially when you’ve put so much effort into planning the trip or building a new life abroad. But for kids, missing home is about longing for the comfort and familiarity they associate with safety.
- Validate Their Emotions: Instead of dismissing their feelings, say something like, “I know you miss your room and your toys. It’s okay to feel that way. I miss some things about home too.”
- Avoid Minimizing Their Experience: Try to resist the urge to say, “But look at where we are!” Instead, let them know their emotions are normal, even in amazing places.
By showing empathy, you create a safe space for them to process their feelings.
2. Create a Visual Calendar to Look Forward to Home
For trips or families living overseas, having a visual reminder of when they’ll see home again can provide reassurance.
- Make It Interactive: Work together to design a countdown calendar with markers for special days, like birthdays or holidays or family celebrations.
- Include Activities to Build Excitement: Add fun things to look forward to during your time away, like a beach day or a family outing.
- Focus on Reunion Moments: Talk about what they want to do first when they’re back home, whether it’s hugging their pet or seeing a favorite friend.
Knowing that home isn’t “gone”—just waiting—can help kids feel more grounded in the present.
3. Build Routines and Traditions to Anchor Them
For families living abroad, creating stability is key to easing homesickness and helping kids embrace their new environment.
- Establish Familiar Routines: Stick to small habits like Friday movie nights, Sunday pancake breakfasts, or bedtime rituals. These touchpoints create comfort, even in unfamiliar surroundings. Our family routine we love is making Dutch Babies on Sunday Morning.
- Start New Traditions Together: Incorporate local customs or create family-specific traditions that make the new place feel special. For example, you might try a weekly visit to a new park or celebrate holidays in a unique way. If you’re like us and waiting for your home goods to be shipped (which can take months!) it’s a great time to be creative. For example, we’ve been playing bottle bowling by setting up water bottles as pins and using a basketball as a bowling ball.
- Give Them Ownership: Let your child help shape some of these routines—whether it’s choosing a meal to cook together or decorating their space however they may like. While I don’t love the visual look of Pokemon, my child had the choice to pick his wall stickers and bedding and Pokemon it is.
By blending familiarity with new experiences, you help them find joy and belonging in their new home. Want to read more about routines and rituals? Read World Travel with Kids: 7 Simple Travel Rituals for Creating Consistency.
4. Stay Connected to Home
Homesickness doesn’t mean your child isn’t enjoying the adventure—it just means they miss what’s familiar. Maintaining a connection to home can help ease that longing.
- Regular Video Calls: Schedule calls with family and friends back home. FaceTiming with friends, family, and classmates back home has been so helpful. It’s also interesting to hear my child share about what’s important to them.
- Bring Comfort Items: Let them pack a few special items from home, like a stuffed animal, blanket, or game.
- Celebrate Home from Afar: Cook a favorite comfort meal or listen to music that reminds them of home. We use our Alexa to build playlists and love that our 5 year old can add songs too.
- Share Frequent Pictures: This digital picture frame made it into our checked luggage, we love it that much. I love that our family members can add in recent pictures and we appreciate feeling connected to their lives even though we live afar.
5. Reframe Homesickness as a Positive Experience
Help your child understand that missing home is a sign of love and connection, not a weakness.
- Teach Emotional Resilience: Say things like, “It’s okay to feel homesick. It means you have people and places you care about. Let’s think of one person you’re missing most and write them a postcard to tell them what you love about them.”
- Highlight Their Growth: Point out how brave they are for exploring new places and learning to adapt. Celebrate small victories like trying a new food or making a friend.
Reframing homesickness as part of the adventure helps them build confidence and emotional strength.
Supporting Your Homesick Child: Final Thoughts
Homesickness is a natural part of travel and living abroad, especially for children. By validating their feelings, offering reassurance, and creating routines that anchor them, you can help your child not only manage their homesickness but also grow from the experience. With your support, they’ll learn to embrace change and find joy in the present while they explore new places.
Would you like to share your own experiences with homesickness? Drop your thoughts in the comments below—I’d love to hear from you!
