Transnational Parenting: A Reality of Many OFW Parents
How do OFW parents cope and parent their kids when they’re so far away from their families?
Not all parents are able to bring their families to other countries when they migrate or find work abroad. Some find themselves making the journey alone first. While navigating and learning about their country of employment, they fight to stay involved with their kids’ lives. Unfortunately, distance and time zones can be quite a challenge. Several studies have often coined the term “transnational parenting” (Alampay, 2013) for OFW parents who stay involved with their children despite distance and time zones.
So, how in the world do OFW parents manage?
The reality of many OFW parents
While the stories of most OFWs involve them being nurses, a lot of them also take on odd jobs. Transcribing, typewriting, teaching English, and serving as an au pair are just some of the things they do to ensure they can start building a foundation abroad. With the Philippine peso weak against most international currencies (most of the time, it’s based on the USD), it makes more sense for some OFWs to make money outside and convert it.
While a difference in time zone is already a given challenge, the work policies and shift in hours make it even harder. Considering most OFWs work in healthcare or become mariners, they rarely have breaks. Mariners don’t have stable internet when they’re out at sea. OFW nurses don’t have the time to sit down for a video call.
When “staying present” can’t be physical
Being physically there is a whole lot better than being a disembodied voice from a screen. Unfortunately, even being a voice on the screen is also hard, especially with varying work schedules. (Aquino, 2024; Magantor, 2024).
So, what do they do? The only thing they can do is to send money or send gifts to make their presence felt. While material things do have some joy, it doesn’t substitute for the warmth and physical presence—a painful truth that OFW parents swallow every day they’re in another country (Bernardo, Mata, Garabiles, 2025; Fuentebella, Alejandrino, Calauod, Del Puerto, and Ignacio, 2025).
Sending money has its own risks. Besides transfer fees, they also don’t have much say on how it’s managed back home. They’re open to financial abuse, often remarking that they are seen as the “family’s ATM” (Pinzon, 2021).
When it’s not the parents who take on the load, it’s the eldest child or the most capable. They become the “third parent” by taking on the financial burden. If ever they protest, then it’s often dismissed with many saying, “You make a lot of money in the other country anyway.”
However, many fail to remember that the living standards in a more prosperous country are often much higher. Inflation doesn’t just happen in the Philippines; other countries have it too.
Transnational parenting needs its village, too!
Many OFW parents often work themselves to the bone in a never-ending cycle because of how much money is needed. They sacrifice the time they wish they could spend with their kids to ensure that their families have something to live on back home.
But they continue to fight with sheer grit and love. Their sacrifices go far beyond remittances—they pour unseen hours, unspoken worries, and unwavering devotion into every call, every package, every peso sent home. As relatives, friends, and community members, we can honor that effort by being part of their village:
- Offering emotional support to the children they’ve left behind
- Helping manage resources responsibly, and recognizing the very real limits of what one parent working abroad can give.
- Updating the OFW parent on their children’s achievements and happenings. Make sure they can attend their children’s milestones digitally if physical isn’t possible.
- Contact them for more than just money. Kamustahan goes a long way!
- Giving oneself a withdrawal limit. The money the OFW sends is all they’ll send for that month. Nothing more.
Families may be separated by oceans, but we can bridge those miles by showing care, understanding, and accountability right here at home.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Many OFW parents practice what experts call transnational parenting, staying connected through regular calls, video chats, and updates from relatives or caregivers. Even when internet access or work schedules make this difficult, they find creative ways—like sending letters, voice recordings, or small gifts—to remind their children of their love and presence.
Time zone differences, long work hours, and demanding jobs often limit their ability to communicate. Nurses, mariners, and other overseas workers may have unpredictable schedules or unreliable internet, making it challenging to schedule consistent contact.
While nothing replaces physical presence, remittances and packages become a tangible way for parents to show care. Sending money helps secure the family’s daily needs and education, even if it can never fully substitute for hugs or shared moments.
Aside from transfer fees, OFWs risk financial misuse or pressure to provide beyond their means. Some parents are unfairly seen as the “family ATM,” and rising living costs in their host country mean their earnings might not stretch as far as relatives expect.
Support can mean more than just financial management. Loved ones can help by updating OFW parents on milestones, encouraging regular check-ins that aren’t just about money, and respecting agreed-upon budgets. Most importantly, they can nurture the children emotionally, ensuring they feel loved and supported even when a parent is oceans away.
References
Alampay, L. P. (2013). Parenting in the Philippines. In Parenting across cultures: Childrearing, motherhood and fatherhood in non-Western cultures (pp. 105-121). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
AQUINO, D. C. D. (2024). Parental Mediation Practices in Households of Families with One OFW Parent.
Bernardo, A. B., Mata, K. K. C., & Garabiles, M. R. (2025). Cultural ideologies and outgroup action tendencies of left-behind children of Overseas Filipino Workers. Cogent Psychology, 12(1), 2478710.
Fuentebella, M. E., Alejandrino, D., Calauod, A., Del Puerto, M., & Ignacio, D. (2025). Grit, Loneliness, Academic Performance, and Self-Concept of High School Students with OFW Parents. Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 3(7), 113-127.
Magantor, J. (2024). Family Psychological Distress among OFW Parents and their Children in the Middle East: A Mixed Method Study. Available at SSRN 5015396.
Pinzon, M. J. L. (2021). Defamiliarized family: The” Anak ng OFWs'” emergent narratives on mediated communication and parent-child relationships. Plaridel, 18(2).
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Marcelito Pomoy on the OFW’s Sacrifice: “I salute all of you.”
The Truth of Many OFW Parents: “Nobody Really Wants To Leave”
