SKIPPING ROPE IN MY FAMILY LIFE

“A life without ups and downs is like a year without spring”.

In March, when the weather changes—getting colder, warmer, lighter, darker—that’s how I could describe the current period of my life. Let’s get straight to the positive experiences of this week and skip the bad moments from previous posts. https://littlepuzzlesandme.com/what-great-things-will-happen-in-2026/

First and foremost, half of my family celebrates their birthdays in March, some less, some more, but we’re all still together, and that’s the most precious thing in life. Family and friends are all around us. The greatest influence on how smoothly my children’s early life in a foreign country went was exerted by their friends – the smallest but most precious ones.

Memories from England

I remember returning to Frýdlant nad Ostravicí (Czech Republic) in 2020 after a long stay in Brighton (UK). I felt great fear, but not for myself, about being in a new place and country. My biggest concern was about my children’s acclimatisation. https://littlepuzzlesandme.com/my-new-life-is-a-piece-of-cake/ https://littlepuzzlesandme.com/my-new-life-is-piece-of-cake-part-2/
Patrick was four when we left England, and Dora was one. My daughter showed no signs of homesickness. Patrick’s attachment to his previous home and his regret for the change were evident immediately upon arrival. He was only four, but he talked nonstop about England, Nursery, his teachers, and above all, his two friends. You can imagine what such a little tot would remember and understand at four. He understood everything like an adult, and he remembered even more.

Testing of a new country

We arrived to new place at the beginning of August. So the children had the rest of their summer break, which really helped Patrick quickly forget about losing his friends from England and find a new group of friends in the Czech Republic. And indeed, as they say, making new friends comes faster and easier for children. And so it was.

Patrick battle

At every playground, Patrick found someone to play with. The same faces of the playground children accompanied him to the ice cream line. Eventually, a situation arose where my son could decide what time and on which playground he would meet his friends. At first, it was completely the opposite with Dorothy. My daughter always stuck with me, played only with me, and when Patrick was alone for a moment, he graciously devoted time to his sister.
My children didn’t struggle at all with English or Polish. For them, there was no language barrier. The Czech children spoke to my son in Czech, and he responded in Polish or English. Two years passed. Patrick finished Nursery, entered first grade, and slowly forgot about England.

Dora battle

Meanwhile, Dora learned Czech so quickly and fluently that by the age of three, I was asking her about certain Czech words, because she definitely has a larger vocabulary than I do. She has become independent, and she goes to sleepovers with her friend. My little daughter was no longer glued to my leg, and her brother irritates her the most.

Good aspects of the new country

And now, when I look at my children and their friends, whom I saw in droves for their birthdays in March, I congratulate myself and high-five myself for how well we’ve managed life in a new country. My children have gained a lot of experience, especially with the language. Patrick watches cartoons in English, sings in Czech, and communicates with his grandparents on WhatsApp in Polish. Dora has less experience with English, but I admire her Czech. Besides, from my own experience, learning English is much easier than Polish or Czech.

I always joked with my old Irish friends that if I hadn’t been born Polish, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to learn Polish.

Voices around

And of course, there were voices – not just one – that my children must be terribly confused by this linguistic manipulation. I’ve heard the opinion that children from mixed-race relationships struggle with everyday communication and that it’s more difficult for them. I’m not saying that’s untrue. It wasn’t just about moving from city to city, but from country to country. In my case, to the third country. But my children cooperated perfectly in their new surroundings. For them, it was the beginning of a new adventure, without wondering how they would cope. The worries and fears resulting from emigration, or rather, from life changes, were only with us – parents.

There were also many positive comments. Other foreign-speaking parents advocated for starting foreign language learning as early as possible in their children’s lives. Children absorb foreign languages ​​like a sponge, especially from their parents, friends, and later, teachers. The more time they spend around people who speak several languages, the faster they learn. Through play and games, they acquire basic words and phrases in a foreign language in everyday situations, and then acquire the remaining higher-level language skills later in school.

My private voice

I’ll be honest with you, maybe 10-15 years ago, I would have followed the first opinion too. But these days, many children grow up in multilingual and multicultural families, so that’s not a reason to blame yourself for the situation. Rather, to proudly say: Yes, I managed. Let’s be proud that we can cope with life in a new country, with a new culture and language!!
The fear was great, but over time, the positive aspects have become increasingly apparent. And today, I can confidently say that we made the right decision.