Moving - How To Help Your Kids Through the Transition

Moving, as it’s known to anyone who has done it, can be a real pain in the neck. When you have kids, this is doubly true. Adults have a hard time adjusting to a new surrounding, but kids are especially susceptible to the trauma that can come with leaving their friends and their familiar, safe environment. As the parent, you have to help them through this transition period. If you’re attuned to how your child is feeling, you can make the change much easier for them with these tips.

Younger children respond exceptionally well to routine. That is a big part of the reason why moving can be so difficult for them. Children are surprisingly conservative and they like things to stay the same as much as possible. While there may be nothing you can do about the big changes that are coming to your family’s life, there are some things you can do to lessen the impact. That means retaining as much of your old routine as possible even after you’ve settled in a new place. The surroundings may be different, but the activities and schedule shouldn’t change too drastically.

Another big component to making moving easier on your children is to make them feel like part of the process. No, you’re probably not going to let your 8 year old decide which house to buy, but you can give them a say when it comes to how their room will be decorated. Let them pick out a color for the walls and choose posters and other fun items to decorate with. This will help the child see this change as something that can not only be fun, but something over which they have a little bit of control.

For older children, it can be a big help if they are able to stay in contact with their old friends. As a parent, see to it that you encourage this and provide ways in which they can keep up with their friends. The Internet makes this prospect easier than ever, with email and Facebook and other such ways of staying connected. Don’t underestimate the importance of making sure your child doesn’t feel as though they’ve lost everything after moving.

Moving is hard for adults and children alike. If you take the time to understand how everyone is feeling, you can help your children through the transition. By doing so, you may even find that you made it a little easier on yourself as well.