Moving abroad for my 3 and 4 year old

[TheWell]

My husband and I are hoping to move abroad next year, taking with us our 3 and 4 year old son and daughter.

Everyone says they will do just fine picking up the language, but being a bit of a worryer, would anyone be able to give me some advice on how to get through it, how their kids coped and anything we as parents can do to help the kids?

Will it be a permanent move and will they be in local schools/kindergartens. We took ds then aged 3 abroad where he attended an International School for 4 years and learnt very little of the local language and dialect although he can remember the odd word and cope with a menu. Can you holiday there beforehand ?

I think it depends on the children to be honest and if they are anxious like you!

Many children may be completely unconcerned about the new language, it can be a non issue for them unless they pick up the idea from you that they have something to worry about.

My daughter loved her school even though she didn´t really have time to pick up the language.

In my experience, if they go to a local school they "absorb" the new language for want a better way of putting it.

I would recommend you get a picture dictionary now and start learning some words together. Plus simple stuff like hello/goodbye, please/thankyou, I'm hungry/thirsty etc

It depends on your life style. My DD was 3 when we moved and was very upset not to understand or rather being understood by children in the park. We choose to put her in a local school, and after a year she is fluent in her new language. I know most expat rather have their children in english speacking school or Kindergarden, and in that case the children don't pick up the language or very little, but they do seem fine and happy too. They usually don't mix in the parks though.
Local TV helps a lot (at 3/4 they don't really mind if a cartoon is in a language they don't understand). If you can play with them at some flashing card or pointing at things and ask how do you say that in Xlanguage, they will learn a few words before hand (but that easier if you already know some of it yourself). If it is one of the main languages in the world you could probably find some internet games or learning program for children. But do google in the language you need. If it is more obscur it might be difficult to find something specifically for children.
good luck

According to what I've read on the subject you might find that the 4 yo finds it easier than the 3 yo at first. This is because at 3 yo children have taken in a lot linguistically speaking and they find it hard to take in any more for a while, while they get it all straight in their heads. Then after this at around 4yo they are ready to take more in again. Where are you moving to? Some languages are a lot easier to learn then others...