(Disclaimer: Don't have much time to get my point across but I'll try anyway.)

A short 10 minute discussion with a co-worker earlier today has been making me think of the topic of minorities and majorities and the painful stuff parents put their kids through / try to protect their kids from.

The background info there being that we are a minority on the island which consists of 10000 black people and about a thousand of the white flavour.  Due to the amazing and unique culture of Anguilla, you may not ever consciously realize that and I seriously doubt that our kids even have a clue that they are just about the only white kids there.  But point is, once we moved, we all were 'forced' to learn the local culture and customs and adjust and it's at times been a painful process.

I myself moved to the US at 17 (i.e. ignorant and naive) and not speaking the language, without a single person on the continent that I would have been able to call if I got in trouble.  I was a minority, forced to learn a language and understand a foreign culture and it sucked for a long time and made me feel very lonely because nobody understood what I was going through.

Once my kids grow older, they will move to Switzerland (free College, you understand) which will once again make them foreigners, without knowing the culture or language.  I would imagine it'll be a difficult process for them to learn in that environment and will definely be frustrating at points.

So while being a minority can be difficult and sometimes painful, is it really a bad thing to experience?
And why would I want to put my kids through so many painful experiences on purpose when my job as a parent is supposed to be to PROTECT them from painful experiences?

The answer for me is that I just don't look at those things as putting them through painful experiences but rather enabling them to learn crucial life lessons that will make their lives easier and leave them better equipped to deal with life.

Your thoughts?