This paper focuses on the condition of children of migrant workers in their Mediterranean countries of origin. The consequences of the economic crisis of the mid-1970s on the total numbers of children left behind and on the flow of returning children are first assessed. Then, it is shown that the physical health of both groups is better than average. As far as education is concerned, the overall picture must be qualified : school results of left behind children depend upon a number of factors, favourable or not to school achievement. On their return, children who lived abroad are systematically graded down, and schooling is often a negative experience for them. Psychosociological and cultural problems are particularly acute. The father's absence, and its consequences on the mother who remained in the home country influence the psycho-emotional development of the child. As for children who corne back to the countries of origin, they meet with several difficulties as their return is sometimes the source of a conflict inside the family, further complicated by differences between the cultural standards of both countries and by the attitudes and behaviour of non migrant families.