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Raising Global Kids in Switzerland. What I Wish I'd Known Before We Started
Raising Global Kids in Switzerland. What I Wish I'd Known Before We StartedA version of this piece was first shared as part of an interview with Csilla Language Lab, a wonderful multilingual education resource based in Zurich. I'm sharing it here in full, in my own words, because so many of you have asked about our schooling journey.When people find out I have three kids growing up in Switzerland, all in a multilingual household they often ask me the same thing: How does it work out? What school did you choose? Was it hard?The honest answer is: it has been a journey. One with a lot of decisions, some doubt, and a few things I'd do differently if I could go back. So I want to share all of it here.A Little About Our FamilyI'm Greek, and my husband is Italian. Before we ever set foot in Switzerland, our home was already a mix of three languages, Greek, English, and Italian. When our children were born in Zurich, German quietly joined the menu. That made four.Our three kids are now 10, 11, and 12. And while they've grown up under the same roof, each of them experiences their languages and their world in a completely different way. What they do share, though, is a foundation I'm deeply proud of, it came from a bilingual German-English kindergarten near our house that turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever made as a family. They picked up German fast, and their English stayed strong. By the time they entered primary school, they were local kids, genuinely, confidently local.Our First Schooling Decision: Going LocalWhen it came time to choose schools, we enrolled all three in the Swiss public school. That was a deliberate choice. We didn't want our children growing up in an expat bubble, moving through Switzerland without ever really being from here. We wanted them to have local friends, to feel part of the community, to belong.The language was a concern, of course, German was still their weaker language compared to English. But the DAZS program (German as a second language, offered within Swiss public schools) made a huge difference. By second grade, each of my children was comfortable speaking and writing in German. And at home, we made sure they were surrounded by it too, local sports teams, music classes, friendships where they moved between German and English naturally.What Surprised Me About the Swiss School SystemA few things about the Swiss public school genuinely impressed me.The first was the emphasis on independence. Field trips were a regu...
I'm an American raising 2 kids in Switzerland. They started walking to ...
The author's kids walk to school alone. Courtesy of the author 2026-05-08T14:03:01.228Z Though I'm from the US, I've adopted a Swiss-style approach to raising my kids' independence. Even in elementary school, they build confidence via solo play and errands. I wish everyone had this — Switzerland's social trust is exceptional. I was a 90's kid in San Diego. That meant playing outside or at the park alone, walking our dog around the neighborhood, and going to the nearby store to buy snacks and treats when our mom was at work. While we weren't exactly latchkey kids, we certainly had the freedom to run around and explore our neighborhood. I even began babysitting when I was only 11. Since those days, things have shifted significantly. It feels like that era is long gone, and were I still living in the US as a parent, I don't know that I'd ever let my children out of my sight.We live in Switzerland nowWhen we first moved to Switzerland, it was the most striking thing to see really little kids walking around, playing alone, or in small groups. Children walking around by themselves is as real today as it was 50 years ago. It's a part of the culture that has always been normal, and, quite often, the only ones resisting the practice are people who have relocated to Switzerland from other countries. The author's kids started walking to school in kindergarten. Courtesy of the author Never had I seen anything like it in the US, and it was, at first, almost shocking; like my mind couldn't process what I was seeing. My kids were born in Europe and have lived in three countries. Since moving to Central Switzerland, I've jumped right in with following local customs and traditions; it's an important part of integration and assimilation. We outfitted our kids with watches and started by allowing them to go to the nearby playgrounds. I needed to know which playground they'd be at, and I'd have them check in every 20 to 30 minutes. As they demonstrated their competence and aged a bit, they were allowed to go out for longer periods. These days, they go out and play, scoot, or bike around for up to an hour. Then they have to check in.They started walking alone in kindergartenTo learn Swiss German, my kids were enrolled in day care and, subsequently, kindergarten at the age of 4. From the time they started kindergarten, they were expected to walk to and from school alone. Children who have after-school day care or extracurricular activities will walk alone or in small g...
Brave on Their Own: A Parent's Guide to Fostering Independence in Children
Conclusion Fostering independence isn't a one‑time event but a gradual journey that grows with your child's abilities. By starting small, offering choices, teaching skills in stages, and shifting your role from doer to coach, you empower your child to tackle life confidently.
How Do Unfolding Routines Support Child Development and Independence
Unfolding routines offer a powerful mechanism to support child development and independence. They create stable yet adaptable patterns that build competence, confidence, and resilience.
