- I'm an American married to a Norwegian, and our children were born in the UK.
- I brought them to Maine to experience a typical American summer.
No one knows we've traveled across the Atlantic for summer in middle-class suburban America until my sons open their mouths.
They shuffle out of summer camp carrying their lunch boxes, swimsuits, towels, water bottles, and Popsicle-stick art. My children's strong British accents project as they exclaim: "We went on a yellow school bus, Mummy! It didn't have any seat belts!"
My 5-year-old and 7-year-old sons hold three passports: American (from me), Norwegian (from their father), and British (from where they were born). While I'm an eighth-generation Mainer who didn't leave the US until I was 19, they're called "third culture kids," or TCK, a term to describe children raised in a culture other than their parents' cultures.
It's important for kids to understand their parents' cultures
My children can't remember much before the pandemic, so this summer marks many American firsts.
I reached out to a TCK expert, Sharon Hicks, the owner and founder of Kintsukuroi Counseling in Mason, Ohio, who reassured me that my desire to bring my children to America for summer was natural.
"It is really important for our kids to understand our unique stories, family culture, and life experiences that help them know more of their own stories and cultural identity," she said. I suppose cultural heritage can include days spent with cousins and running outside to see lightning in a vast, open sky.
While eating ice creams the size of their heads in the parking lot after camp, my children show off something new: putting an L on their foreheads while they chant "Loser!" Rather than reprimanding them, I laugh. "Yes," I think, "it must be an American thing to call someone a loser."
That evening my husband drives the boys and me in a rental SUV to a baseball game — the Sea Dogs, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, are playing. Our children giggle as my husband and I switch places in the car so I can do the difficult parallel parking in the one spot left on the street. "I'll teach you," I tell them as I weave into the tight space, a skill learned from years of Boston parking in college.
At the stadium, our children are entranced by the constant entertainment, including cheerleaders and mascots. I instinctively rip their hats off for the national anthem, and they ask me why. "You just do," I answer, because I've never thought to question it.
My kids don't get to experience the little joys of American summers
These bits of American childhood in the summer — the abrupt change in temperature entering an air-conditioned restaurant, delight at finding something special in a neighborhood yard sale, watching a teenage camp counselor fall into the water in a dunk tank — don't make international news. What my children hear in the UK about America is accurate but less favorable.
Hicks explained this phenomenon of parents wanting their children to experience their home culture firsthand. "Often we hear things in the news that cast big broad statements over what others can interpret as our lived experience," she said. "By providing these opportunities for our TCK, we help them see more of a true picture of our home culture."
One 90-plus-degree evening, I bring my boys to Target after camp for an air-conditioned walk. "This is the biggest store in the world!" one exclaims, making fellow shoppers laugh.
The boys run to the Halloween candy and pick rare American sweets to bring back to friends in England. While I'd normally scoff at Halloween candy displayed in August, I'm surprisingly satisfied — they'll get to bring another tiny piece of America back to the UK.