Moving with children can be a sensitive process – especially if they have not moved house before and will experience a lot of change as a result.
If children are unhappy with the situation, it can become very stressful very quickly, perhaps even breeding resentment from them towards you and causing a rift between children and parents.
Luckily, there are some things that you can do to make the moving process a little easier for them to adjust to. Here are just a few of them.
Talk To Them Ahead Of Time
Don’t spring the move onto your children, as this may leave them feeling confused and uninvolved. Try to speak to your children in the early stages of the moving process, perhaps even before you’ve finalized on the purchase of a new home. If there will be any big changes as a result of the move – moving schools, seeing less of certain family, etc. – they’ll need time to come around to the idea.
Make It Feel More Exciting
Once you’ve purchased a new home, show them photographs and get them excited about it! Start talking through with them about how they can decorate their new bedroom or playroom, allowing them to choose the designs and colours. This will keep them feeling involved and like it’s an exciting new experience rather than the end of an old, comfortable one. Maybe even give them a gift to look forward to, such as a trampoline for the new garden or a bike to ride around the new neighbourhood.
On moving day, give them their own jobs, so they feel like they are helping the movers. They’ll feel a little more grown up and will enjoy the responsibility.
Let Them Visit With You
If you have the opportunity to visit your new home ahead of the move, take your kids with you and give them a chance to get a feel for their new living space! Likewise, if your kids have to move to a new school, try to organise an opportunity for them to visit the school with you so they can have a chance to meet their new teachers and maybe even some of the pupils.
It’s one thing to show your children photographs of their new environments, but actually letting them visit will give them a much better chance to adjust to their new surroundings ahead of time.
Assure Them That Not Everything Has To Change
Assure your children that, even if they are further away from family and friends, they will still be able to keep in touch. Explain to them that their friends and family are only ever a message or a phone call away and that you’ll be able to visit before very long.
While a move can be a daunting experience for a child, it can also be a very exciting one – it’s all about the way that you prepare them for the move ahead of time.
Very Informative