Resources

There's lots on offer here. Bookmark this page and keep popping back.

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Articles

This eclectic selection of articles is useful to all. Keep popping back as new ones are regularly added.

GENERAL

•  How to drive an expat crazy: 10 ways to irritate someone who has lived abroad.
• The difference between self-compassion and self-pity
• A Shift in American Family Values is Fueling Estrangement

​DISTANCE GRANDPARENTS

• Long Distance Grandparenting 
• Loneliness - Long Distance Granny
• The pleasure and pain in raising an independent daughter
• ​Are your affairs in order before your travel?
• Top tips for staying in touch across the globe
• ​Dear Mary-anne: My son-in-law drank all our booze
• "I'm not breaking my kids" and other things expats would like to say
• ​Why the world now has more grandparents than grandchildren
• Becoming a grandparent during the coronavirus pandemic
• Lessons From a Long-Distance Grandfather
• Difficult daughter-in-law? How do you build a positive relationship with her?
• Our son and grandson are in New Zealand and we are in tears over not being able to be with them
• Top 10 tips for long distance grandparenting
• Over The River & Through The Woods: Long Distance Grandparenting
• Pandemic Grandparenting, Beyond the Dreary Video Calls
• How to Grandpa and Grandma in 20 languages
• Hope for Estranged Grandparents
• The Year Grandparents Lost
• Resources on Grandparent Estrangement & Alienation

​DISTANCE SONS AND DAUGHTERS

• How living abroad helps you develop a clearer sense of self
• When your last goodbye was your last goodbye: Processing death and life abroad.
• Why you should plan a trip with your Mother every year
• Far from Home, Stuck in a Limbo
• When Grandchildren are estranged from their Grandchildren
• What to say to your parents when they are dying
• With borders closed, our lifelines to family overseas have been cut. The isolation is suffocating​​
• Life will never be the same for people over 60 — even with a COVID-19 vaccine
• The Many Faces of Pandemic Grief​​
• The Shift from Helicopter Parents to Helicopter Caregivers​​
• How to Outsmart Mother's Day and Father's Day
• How to tackle tough times when you're missing "home"
• ​3 Ways to Stop Toxic Positivity from Tainting your Expat Life

DISTANCE GRANDCHILDREN

• How do multilingual children become adults?
• Whom am I? A weird culture kid
• I am a Malaysian who grew up abroad. Call me a Third Culture Kid.
• Generational Differences 

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Books​ (Click here)

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Websites

www.thelongdistancegrandparent.com
Meaningful and simple ways to stay connected with grandchildren 2-10 years. "It is so fulfilling and the progress grandparents are making is really incredible" (Dr Kerry Bryne, Founder) 
 
www.gransnet.com
U.K. based online community for over 50s

www.globallygrounded.com
Global Grandparent Resources
 
Families in Global Transition (FIGT)
A globally mobile forum for individuals, families and those working with them.

Relocate Global Magazine
Information and support for HR, global mobility managers, global teams and those relocating, operating in or setting up new operations overseas.
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Rocky Re-entry
Dedicated to discussion of repatriation (to the U.S.)

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Podcasts

The Grand Life
​Author Emily Morgan hosts an excellent exploration of grandparenting (local and distance), the relationships within the role, and the ways in which grandparenting impacts our children…and their children. 

Death, with Cath Brew
An interview by Kim Adams of Expat Family Connection. All generations should hear Cath. Her wisdom on the subject of death and distance is the best. 

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Video

Our Absent Grandchildren - an ethnotheatre performance
​When grandparents have little or no contact with their grandchildren because of family conflict or separation, emotions run high. The script for this performance is based on interviews with 33 grandmothers and 17 grandfathers, from research undertaken by Professor Margaret Sims. 

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Professional Services

Location Independent Therapists
A community of location independent mental health professionals everywhere.

Expatriate Law
International Family Law matters

Better Help
Better Help is an American-based, online counselling service you can access anytime and anywhere. They will match you with an independently certified counsellor that is there to help you no matter your needs. They’ll stay with you unless you decide to change. Get feedback, advice, and guidance from your counsellor via video chats, text messages and email. Couple counselling is also available to migrants who have moved abroad together. You receive unlimited sessions around the clock at an affordable, flat monthly fee. Message your counsellor wherever you are, on-site or through the app.

Families in Global Transition – The Counseling and Coaching Affiliate
A professional subgroup in the FIGT community
https://www.figt.org/counseling-coaching-affiliate

Globally Grounded
A company and website dedicated to equipping students crossing cultures, their families and those who educate them to effectively navigate the triumphs and trials associated with living and learning between the amongst domestic and international cultures.

Truman Group
Psychological Care for Expats
For an interview with Dr Sean Truman click here for an excellent podcast.
 
The Interchange Institute
The Founder and Executive Director Dr. Anne P. Copeland is a clinical psychologist with expertise in cultural transition and clinical psychology. She provides cross-cultural training for individual and families moving to and from the United States.

Expat Nest
Counselling with borders for adults, parents and teens

Transitions Therapy International
Psychotherapy, counselling, coaching & consulting

Dr Joshua Coleman
Estrangement Counsellor

Handy digital communication tools

• 31 Ways to Connect with Grandchildren from a distance
• ​Distance Learning: Grandparents reading remotely
• Grandchildren share online school assignments via the screen share feature of Zoom
• Make a copy of a favourite children's book and send it to your grandchildren so you can read it together
• 10 organizations connecting generations during the pandemic
• Use TeamViewer to provide remote digital support for family
• Grandparent-grandchildren video calls are vital during COVID-19. Here are simple ways to improve them.
• Caribu Family video calls and online book sharing
• Marco Polo for easy to and fro video conversations

Webinar & Podcasts

The Grand Life, 'Distance/Global Grandparenting podcast with Author, Emily Morgan. Click here for podcast

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The Green Room, Induku Consulting Group, South Africa with Helen Ellis (2020 October) Navigating Distance Grandparenting. Webinar

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​Schneider-Bean, Sundae & Ellis, Helen. (2020, June).  '179: Distance Grandparenting with Helen Ellis', ​The Expat Happy Hour (below) Podcast.

Research

​Ellis, H. (2019, November). 'Being a kiwi long-haul distance grandparent: You cannot cuddle an iPad'. Presented at 8th Annual Emerging Researchers Conference, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation] Authored by: Ellis, H.
 
Ellis, H. (2019, November). 'Being a kiwi long-haul distance grandparent: You cannot cuddle an iPad'. Presented at Breaking Boundaries ASAA/NZ Conference. Raglan, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation] Authored by: Ellis, H.

Ellis, H. (2020). '"How is distance grandparenting for you?" A study of long haul, New Zealand distance grandparents and inter-generational transnational familying', M.A. Thesis, Massey University, Auckland, N.Z.

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Travel Advice

International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT)

Check IATA's interactive map to find out about current global travel pre-testing, quarantine and isolation regulations.

Article: Read This Before You Fly Anywhere for the Holidays

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