#36: Third Culture Kids- Ruth E. Van Reken

What does it mean to grow up “among worlds”?

In this episode of Missions Life, we talk with Ruth E. Van Reken, co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, about the unique joys, challenges, strengths, and hidden griefs that often shape the lives of missionary kids and other globally mobile children.

For many missionary families, cross-cultural life gives children incredible gifts: a broader worldview, cultural adaptability, deep empathy, and the ability to become bridge-builders between people and places. But repeated transitions, unresolved grief, identity questions, and the constant cycle of hellos and goodbyes can also leave lasting marks.

Ruth helps us understand how parents can better recognize the needs of their Third Culture Kids, walk with them through loss, help them build a healthy sense of identity and belonging, and prepare them for re-entry into their passport culture.

In This Episode, We Cover:

✅ What a Third Culture Kid is and why their experience is unique

✅ The advantages and hidden costs of growing up cross-culturally

✅ How repeated transitions can affect children long term

✅ Why unresolved grief is so common for TCKs and their parents

✅ Helping kids process goodbyes in healthy ways

✅ How to answer the question, “Where are you from?”

✅ The “migratory instinct” and the struggle to feel settled

✅ Uneven maturity in TCKs and what parents need to understand

✅ Common relational patterns caused by frequent moves

✅ Preparing children for reverse culture shock and re-entry

✅ How TCKs can become leaders, teachers, and bridge-builders

✅ Encouragement for missionary parents in hard seasons overseas

Whether you are raising missionary kids, preparing to move overseas, supporting a globally mobile family, or are an adult TCK yourself, this conversation offers wisdom, compassion, and practical help for navigating life across cultures.

Show notes and links: https://www.kylefarran.com/missionslife/36-third-culture-kids-ruth-e-van-reken

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