Part-Time Swiss Abroad: Raising Children Between Countries

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) More and more Swiss are embracing a hybrid lifestyle, living and working across borders. But when kids and school schedules enter the picture, this international juggling act gets a lot more complicated. This content was published on August 13, 2025 - 09:00 7 minutes

Emigration, returning to Switzerland, family, education, pensions, banking, insurance... I care about Swiss people living abroad and inform them about the issues that concern them. Passionate about languages and cultures, my career path took a short turn through marketing and assistant work before crossing the road into journalism, in a job that allows me to converse with people from all over the world.

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“Until he was three, the situation was easy enough to manage,” says Karin*, who divides her time between Switzerland and Scandinavia with her young son Mario*.“But when he started school, the lack of playmates and all the things needing to be done for school just complicated things.”

Living and working in two countries at the same time is tricky enough at the best of times ; Karin's account of things shows just how complex it can become when children are involved.

A sense of security

It is just as essential to provide some kind of emotional security for children for stays of just a few months as it is to emigrate for good.“You have to communicate openly and honestly about what's going to happen, take the child's concerns seriously and talk about their feelings,” says Regula Neuenschwander from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Bern.

Karin has taken this advice in the case of her own son, and it seems to work.“When there is an important event coming up, I talk it over with Mario so we can look forward to some aspect of it... then things are not so spectacular and he takes it as something 'normal',” she says.

Regula Neuenschwander, from the University of Bern, also lived abroad during her childhood. Luca Christen 2019

The ability to adapt to new situations also depends on the personality of the child, Neuenschwander points out. Most of all, the parents need to provide a role model, showing that they themselves are also flexible and resilient in dealing with all kinds of situations.

Keeping up the connection

Rituals also have an influence on the child's well-being. Karin notes that having“Swiss” toys helped Mario feel at home when they were in the other country.

Neuenschwander believes it's necessary to strike a balance between the culture of origin and the adopted culture and maintain it as much as possible, throughout the year. This continuity helps to reassure children.

Providing a social life

One of the main difficulties to living in two countries has to do with being able to provide a social life for children.

As a freelance worker, Karin was never able to place her son in child care, as it could not provide the particular hours of care she needed. As a solution she used various au pair services during her stays in Scandinavia to stimulate the boy's social instincts.

Parents can make a great contribution to the social life of their children by helping them learn the language of the host country, so they can communicate and make contacts there.

A cantonal matter

Spending a few months abroad with children means organisation, but the complexities just increase once they are of school age.

In most Swiss cantons, school attendance is compulsory from the age of four on. However, under the federal system, schooling is a cantonal responsibility . So it is really indispensable for parents to inform themselves about the details of schooling in conjunction with the authorities in their canton of residence. There are some general rules that apply.

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