6 Practical Ways to Celebrate International TCK Day and Help TCKs Feel Seen

Try 6 practical International TCK Day ideas to support Third Culture Kids, build resilience, and feel connected. Get inspired today.

May 18 / TCK Training

International TCK Day is a chance to pause and celebrate third culture kids (TCKs) — kids who grow up living in a culture that’s different from their parents’ “home” culture with the intention to return "home" one day. A lot of TCKs learn how to adapt fast, make friends quickly, and feel at home in more than one place, but they also carry the weight of constant change, goodbyes, and the question of “Where do I actually belong?”

Days like this matter because they give us a clear moment to say: we see you, your story matters, and you don’t have to carry it alone. And honestly, we need those moments because life moves fast — and if we don’t celebrate on purpose, we miss the chance to build connection and make meaning out of a life that’s anything but simple.

Feeling prioritized is integral to a child's health and development. And one of the best ways to show someone that you're prioritizing them is by spending intentional time listening and building memories together.

A fun idea for International TCK Day could be coloring these free coloring pages together, or pulling out pictures and talking about favorite stories from their TCK adventures!

If you don't live close to the TCKs in your life, shoot them a call, email, or message on social media!
Being personally contacted helps TCKs feel seen and loved ❤️

For an adult TCK who has repatriated, they may not have the chance to acknowledge their TCK experience often, so this could mean even more!

Check out the list of TCK strengths listed on page 54 of the free First Look at the 2024 Research, and then share which strengths you see in the TCK you care about.

This could make a great card. Having it written down means they can refer back to it whenever they need some encouragement!

We cannot tell you how many stories we've heard of adult TCKs learning what the term "TCK" is for the first time and saying:
"That's me, I'm a TCK! You mean I actually fit somewhere?!"
They then find so much relief in having words to match what they've been experiencing. This builds hope.

The term Third Culture Kid is still gaining recognition, so by sharing about it with people you're helping increase the awareness and possibility for increased care! This is why we felt it was important that our very first podcast episode unpacked the term, which you can share for free on Spotify, apple, and our website!

We often hear people say, "I wish I had known about this sooner!" You could be the one to let them know they're not alone.

A resource you could start with are our free International TCK Day coloring pages 🥳 or any of our other resources here!

Our blog post on TCKs and Positive Childhood Experiences would also be a great read for anyone wanting quick tips to implement support for TCKs!

As we all know, there are challenges to the TCK experience. They can be heavy and painful. But we've seen over and over that when TCKs are given the support to process those hard experiences they're able to move forward feeling lighter, filled with hope, and the ability to access their TCK strengths even better.

Free Processing Questions

So one of the best things you can do for them is sit with them in the hard and help them process! You can use our FREE processing questions as a guide!