Europe beaches + English for kiddo

My family and I recently relocated to Zurich with my (now) 4 year old. She has been having a hard time making friends since virtually none of the kids here speak English although she is attending a local public school and is slowly learning Swiss German, she complains about the no-English and not understanding people.

She turns 5 in April and asked to go to the beach for her birthday and I thought it would be nice if we could go somewhere where there might be kids that also speak English. She has been quite a trooper about all the adjustments from moving to a country with none of her stuff or friends where she doesn't speak the language so I was hoping this would be a nice treat for her. (she is also getting a baby brother in January so that is another adjustment for her)

Any suggestions on where to go? I was looking at Malta but I don't know much about it. I could take her to England but the beach would be rather cold. She wants to make sand castles.

Last time I was in Costa del Sol Spain, it seemed like tons of people were speaking English. I think lots of English folk vacation there.

Southern Spain is very popular with Brits, but although the weather is great, a lot of the people who go are on cheap packages and the resorts aren't that nice. Have you thought about England? Our weather isn't as good as Switzerland, but we're very friendly! If you'd like English recommendations, let me know and I'll have a think.

At that age, if she is in a local preschool or school that is in the native tongue there, she should be fluent enough to play with locals in a few months time. Did you give her lessons & expose her to German before you came? Even having her watch kids TV & kids music in German will help as the sooner that she is fluent the easier it will be for her, so immerse, immerse , immerse!

It can be a bit challenging to learn a new language, but she is at a great age for it & she'll adapt in no time. I see it constantly here in Spain where we have been wintering for the last 4 winters & my daughter has attended the local school since we bean our world tour when she was 5.

Spain is a great idea because there are lots of Brits, but a LOT depends on exactly where you are. Sounds like you might want the built up package tour kinds of locations. This restaurant & beach is in an area where lots of Brits take a holiday. http://www.soultravelers3.com/2009/07/best-beach-restaurants-on-costa-del-sol-puerto-marina-.html

We love this beach resort in Barcelona that is near a beach, has 3 pools (indoor & out), zoo & kids club plus more:

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2007/05/barcelona-beach.html

There always seem to be lots of kids from UK, Ireland, Scotland etc & lots of other countries & they have lots of fun activities for the kids.

Maybe try to set up play dates for her too for 1 on 1 time with German speaking playmates, so she can build relationships with locals. I'm always amazed at how well kids can play together even without a common language. It would be good to maybe get her some private lessons too which will speed her progress (look for a teen or grandmother type to help for little or no cost). The quicker she is fluent, the happier she will be & kids this age can do that in a few short months.

Good luck!

Thanks for the recs! I was pregnant but now have a new 3 week old so I can do more investigating for fun things to do with the kids.

Spain is a good idea, DH and I've been there and we loved it (pre-kids) and we are definitely going to England to visit a good friend of ours before he moves back to New Zealand. Her birthday coincides with Easter holiday at school so I will have to see about prices and such before deciding what to do when.

My daughter is in the local Swiss school and is learning Swiss German, unfortunately she is lonely now. The move was a surprise so I couldn't do a lot to prepare her language-wise, in fact I barely got the house packed up in time. She will adapt eventually, it just makes me sad to see her so lonely. Part of it was my fault, being huge and pregnant I couldn't do much to facilitate friendships. Now that I am no longer huge or pregnant, I am trying to do more.

Poor little scrap... She sounds homesick.

It sounds as though she needs to get her confidence up by going somewhere where she feels comfortable to start up conversations with other kids, in her own language, which would, I reckon, be a tourist destination.

Why not take a holiday to England? Cornwall's beaches are nice. Rather cold, as you say, but nice all the same... Or do one of those very British holidays, like Butlins or Pontins? (Probably hell on earth for you, but she'd get plenty of opportunity to mix with other kids...)

Or do the Disneyland thing? Guaranteed warmth. Beaches. Everyone speaks English. And she will have something to talk to her peers about when she gets back to school...

Greek Isles are another good option. Relatively inexpensive, a lot of English and really fun for grown ups too ! We were in Mykonos, Rhodes and Santorini - all good bets.

Here is a good article about the most popular summer destinations http://www.squidoo.com/summer-resorts-a ... -in-europe. I can recommend you Greece, Turkey and Croatia. They have great beaches.

Could I come at this from a completely different viewpoint?
Your daughter is fortunate to have a mum and dad who clearly care for her. She is also now fortunate to have a little sibling who will become her best friend if you talk enough that way, and who she can devote herself to. Sure the baby will not *play* with her for quite some time, but she can read or show it books, give cuddles, bring wipes or whatever you need - she can get busy in loving this little one and will find herself not so lonely.
Make sure you snuggle up with her on the couch every day and enjoy stories together and she will feel your love oozing out - this will make her secure and other troubles will fade, if not disappear completely.
When I had little ones circumstances dictated that we were home all week on our own. Once a week a couple of older kids were dropped off at my place and I looked after them, but apart from that my family was my life and my kids were each others' only friends. Deciding to view this restriction as an opportunity to bond our family meant it became both bearable and valuable. To this day I think it's one of the reasons we were able to travel for fifteen months in very close quarters with kids ranging in age from toddler to teen.

Don't ignore your daughter's wails about loneliness, but proactively seek to encourage positive thinking about your special family time.

If you want to, that is. I didn't mean to sound so bossy!

(Oh, and if you decide to go to England, remember to check if the beach is sandy or pebbly - coming from NZ we had never encountered a pebbly beach like Brighton! The kids made towers instead of sandcastles!!)

Thanks for the viewpoint, Mama-to-many. Little brother is now 18 months old and my daughter (now 6) adores him. Her German is now quite good and she has a lot of friends. One thing I didn't talk about in my OP was that my daughter was being bullied by 2 kids. One situation has resolved with a lot of talking to everyone (parents, school, etc) but the other gets better, only to get worse again. The kid's mom makes anti-American comments almost every time I see her so I think I know where the kid gets it.

We never did make it to the beach because my daughter elected to have a big party instead. I am actually here to get some information for a quick trip to Italy before school starts.

The first year here was quite rough but we are settling in. I think.