Sharoya, Angi and I talk about different aspects of kids leaving the house, having fewer family members around, and what happens when they come back home? Some great suggestions for keeping the peace, making the most out of the new additional space ... and making sure you have beds for everyone when/if they come back home!

We all know that our kids are supposed to grow up, go to uni, and then go off on their own. This is our primary goal as parents: help foster independence, innate curiosity, caring and capable humans to go contribute to something. Sometimes, real life rears its head and they come home unexpectedly. You may think you're going to be an empty nester but at any given point, family may walk in the door.

Make the most out of the small and big spaces you have and the people filling them.

Why drive when you can tuk or metro easily? Or use the family driver? FS kids often arrive to university not having a driver's license. What to do?

Shipping our kiddos off to university feels like a bit of a leap of faith, but it is what is supposed to happen, and it will all be fine. There are some stark differences between foreign service kids and those who graduated from stateside high schools amongst uni attendees. It isn't that one kind of high school experience prepares kids for university better or worse, but there are definite differences. Being prepared for these -- and preparing your kid for these -- will help manage expectations! These are just the differences I observed; I am sure there are many more. I'd love to hear some of your stories, too!

Next episode, I'll talk about one of the biggest differences: driver's license!