Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World [Paperback]

Homa Sabet Tavangar (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 25, 2009

In today’s increasingly interconnected world, how do we prepare our children to succeed and to become happy, informed global citizens? A mother of three, Homa Sabet Tavangar has spent her career helping governments develop globally oriented programs and advising businesses on how to thrive abroad. In Growing Up Global, Tavangar shares with all of us her “parenting toolbox” to help give our children a vital global perspective.

Whether you’re mastering a greeting in ten different languages, throwing an internationally themed birthday party, or celebrating a newfound holiday, Growing Up Global provides parents and children with a rich, exciting background for exploring and connecting with far-flung nations they may have only heard about on television. Inside you’ll discover

• fun activities, games, and suggestions for movies, music, books, magazines, service activities, and websites for expanding your family’s worldview
• simple explanations that will help your children grasp the diversity of world faiths
• creative ways to gain geography literacy
• handy lists of celebrations and customs that offer a fascinating look at how people from different cultures around the world live everyday life

Growing Up Global is a book that parents, grandparents, and teachers can turn to again and again for inspiration and motivation as they strive to open the minds of children everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Growing up Global offers fascinating ideas for giving young people opportunities to become truly global citizens. Learning about the customs and culture of others around the globe enriches our lives so much and can only lead to better understanding and cooperation for generations to come.”—Jane Goodall PhD, DBE, Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

“Growing up Global is for every family on the planet, bar none. Tavangar's stellar ideas for deepening children's understanding of—and comfort with—every culture is a must in today's increasingly borderless world. But Tavangar's tips aren't just about imbuing children with the multicultural competence they need to succeed in today's cultural blender; unwittingly or not, she's also provided a road map for connecting more deeply and joyfully with our kids as we uncover the world's smorgasbord of art, movies, books, games, sports, foods, religions (and dispel antiquated stereotypes) on our journey to discovery. This book is a two for one.—Donna Jackson Nakazawa, author, Does Anybody Else Look Like Me: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Multiracial Children

“Growing Up Global is an intelligent, thoughtful guide for developing a global orientation in children. The chapter on school experiences around the world was particularly relevant, and I found the service and giving chapter inspirational. This is an encouraging book for a multicultural world!”—Terri Morrison, co-author, Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than Sixty Countries


“The single greatest gift you can give your child today is to raise them with a global mind-set. If you read only one book this year about child rearing, make it Growing Up Global. It is relevant for today’s families, and long overdue.” —Perry Yeatman, author of Get Ahead by Going Abroad

About the Author

Homa Tavangar has 20 years’ experience working with governments, businesses, international organizations and non-profit agencies in global competitiveness, organizational and business development and cross-cultural issues.
She has lived in the Middle East, East and West Africa, South America, and throughout the United States. In addition to English, she speaks Persian (Farsi), Spanish, Portuguese, and rudimentary French and Swahili. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in International Economics, and International Development and Public Affairs from UCLA and Princeton University. Her religious heritage includes four of the world’s major faiths, and she has family living on every continent.
Homa has been researching Growing Up Global since spending the first anniversary of 9/11/01 in China, while she served as Special Advisor on International Business Development for the City of Philadelphia. From January through April 2007 she lived in West Africa with her children, where they spent a school term and she blogged their experience for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She is married and the mother of three girls, ranging in age from 5 to 15. She is active with their public schools in suburban Philadelphia and serves on the Boards of several international organizations. This is her first book.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; Original edition (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345506545
• ISBN-13: 978-0345506542
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 7.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Since the successful release of "Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World," Homa Sabet Tavangar has been recognized as a leading voice among parents, educators, business leaders, the media and non-profit organizations in building understanding of global citizenship, its nuances and its practicalities. Prior to turning her attention to writing and global education, she had 20 years' experience working with governments, businesses, international organizations and non-profit agencies in global competitiveness, organizational and business development, and cross-cultural understanding.

"As a parent raising children during such times of flux, I was looking for a book that would help make sense of the intersection of globalization, education and parenting, and offer thoughtful, practical tools. I didn't find that book, so I set out to write it. The result is Growing Up Global," Homa explained.

She was born in Tehran and moved to Cleveland, Ohio when she was just over a year old. Along with Iran, she has lived in East and West Africa, South America, and throughout the United States. In addition to English, she speaks Persian (Farsi), Spanish, Portuguese, and rudimentary French and Swahili. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in International Economics, and International Development and Public Affairs from UCLA and Princeton University. She spent one pivotal year studying at The Catholic University in Lima, Peru, and criss-crossing the lower two-thirds of South America. Her religious heritage includes four of the world's major faiths, and she has family living on every continent.

Homa started researching Growing Up Global after spending the first anniversary of 9/11/01 in China, while she served as Special Advisor on International Business Development for the City of Philadelphia. From January through April 2007 she lived in West Africa with her children, where they spent a school term and she blogged their experience for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She is married and the mother of three girls, ranging in age from 8 to 18.

Homa is looking forward to sharing ideas from Growing Up Global with communities everywhere. When people begin to explore the opportunities for connecting with the world, we all learn so much. Consider inviting Homa to your community for a talk, book discussion, an international day, school assembly, training in a school or corporate environment, or consultation with administration for implementing a globally-oriented strategic plan. See the Events page on www.growingupglobal.net for more information on each of these formats and for her upcoming schedule. And join the conversation on the Growing Up Global Facebook page (www.facebook.com/growingupglobal)!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple ways to connect our children with the world. Priceless. August 28, 2009

By Cara Bradley

Format:Paperback

Growing up Global is a gem for parents of children ages 0-18. It offers a wealth of resources and ideas of how we can help our children build a web of connections with other cultures and religions. Some suggestions are quick and easy (keep National Geographic around the house) while others are more extensive (learn a new language). What I love most about this book is that it offers simple ways to start small. Often as a mother of teenage girls, I feel overwhelmed and underproductive. There is so much advice out there about what I should be doing and I want to do it all! I found Ms. Tavangar's approach unintimidating and realistic.

One suggestion that I found very helpful is to use our children's passions as vehicles to connect with the world. Recently my daughters, both soccer players, became Pass Back Ambassadors. As representatives for this national organization, they collect new and used soccer equipment and ship boxes of cleats and clothing abroad to countries of their choosing. This has fostered a whole new appreciation for and connection with children around the globe who share their love for the sport.

Growing up Global offers us many ways that help us link our seemingly small lives with the world. The theme that Ms. Tavangar threads throughout her book is that when we connect with others, we integrate the universal truth that we are all very much the same. As parents, if we can help younger generations develop deep, heartfelt bonds with cultures around the world, the pathway to achieving global peace will expand exponentially. Growing up Global is your encyclopedia for connecting. It is the perfect place to start!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Every parent needs this book! August 26, 2009

By J. Spotila

Format:Paperback

Growing Up Global is a practical and aspirational guide to opening your eyes and heart to our neighbors around the world. Organized around the steps of making a friend (greeting, play, celebration, service), this is a hands-on how-to book for every family. Each chapter includes information, ideas, activities, and resources for engaging children of all ages.

But Growing Up Global is not a to-do list for multiculturalism or political correctness. Its foundation is the Golden Rule: treat others as you wish to be treated. As our world becomes more interdependent and connected, we need to learn how to respectfully engage with people from many cultures. It's not just a matter of doing business in the world economy, but connecting with the Peruvian mother at your child's bus stop or the Egyptian dad who coaches your child's soccer team. It's about teaching our children to be curious about our differences, instead of afraid of them.

Growing Up Global can help all families, regardless of means or background, find easy and fun ways to connect with the world. Every parent and every teacher should read this book!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World August 28, 2009

By David Broida

Format:Paperback

Homa Tavangar's Growing Up Global: Raising Children to be At Home in the World is an excellent guide for parents eager to expand their horizons and introduce their children to a world beyond the household electronics and the local mall. In an increasingly-smaller, more interdependent world, where fear of "terrorists" and "evil-doers" often trumps intercultural understanding, reading this book offers many paths to looking beneath the surface of "the other". It's an interesting, fascinating world out there, sometimes pretty, other times not so pretty. Either way, knowledge and insight - these all take a certain effort on the part of parents, and this book can serve as a useful tool. If the trouble with the world is that there are too many foreigners (it's a joke), then this book makes the distant less foreign.