I thought eight years of processing had resolved my emotions, until I joined the Mennonite Central Committee as personnel administrator in 1989. I found myself recruiting families to go overseas. Parents asked me what the future held for their children in the countries where MCC wanted them to go. In my experience, younger and older children interact differently with their environment. Although I believe babies are born with strong genetic characteristics, they are also like sponges that indiscriminately absorb their environment.
Small children seem to pick up language and local customs with no effort.
Parents rue the disappearance of a second language in their preschooler a few months after returning to North America. Small children can experience culture shock. It is my perception, however, that a small child's universe is more centered on his or her family. A small child's security will be more tied to a family's strength and stability than to the external environment. Older children, as they reach their teens, differentiate themselves from family.