Moving is a stressful process — especially for children.
Children don’t understand all of the factors that go into a move. What they’re thinking is, “Why do I have to leave my friends?” and “Why do I need to go to a new school?”
When kids move for the first time out of the only home they’ve ever known, the process can be difficult.
Kids feel powerless in this situation because they have no control over the outcome.
Even though a move can seem like the end of the world for your child, there are a few things you can do to make the process easier.
1. Find the Right Time To Move
When you’re moving with a child, certain move dates are better than others. If you have the luxury of choice, it’s worth exploring your options.
Making a kid move during the middle of a semester can leave them feeling overwhelmed and confused. Instead, try to plan your move in the summer to give your child a fresh start.
Starting at a new school in a fresh new year will make it easier for your child to assimilate and make friends.
Although summer is typically a more expensive time to move, it will make a difficult process that much easier for them.
2. Tell Them As Soon as Possible
Once you decide to move, it’s best to tell your kids as soon as possible.
Springing a life-changing event on them all of a sudden probably won’t go over well.
According to this Plano moving company, telling your children about the move early on will give them more time to process and accept that they will have to go through a major change.
When you tell them early, they can continue to trust you — they won’t think you’re keeping secrets or making significant changes behind their back.
Telling children as soon as possible also gives you time to answer any questions they may have; eliminating unknowns will help them feel more comfortable with the move.
3. Plan a “See You Later” Party
To ease the sadness of moving, plan a going-away party for your child — but be careful how you spin it. Planning a “see you later” party implies they’ll be seeing their friends and family again (not saying goodbye forever).
Planning a party around the move will give your child something to look forward to. It will also provide them a chance to have a last hoorah with their favorite people.
During this party, you can make plans with other parents on how your kids can communicate after the move. Assure the kids that they’ll be able to have video call hangouts or become pen pals.
Try not to plan the event too close to moving day as this could get overwhelming for them. Planning it a few weeks before your move will also help avoid some feelings of finality — a party the day before a move might stir up some extra emotions, to say the least.
4. Allow Them To Design Their Room
During a time when your child feels like they have no control over their life, you can help them feel empowered by allowing them to choose the layout and theme of their new room.
Giving them the exciting and unique chance to design their room will provide them with something to look forward to when they get to your new home.
5. Stay Positive About the Move
You have a great influence on how your child will react to the move.
When breaking the news to your child, make it a positive experience. Let them know all of the new things they’ll get to experience. Talk about how they’ll get to keep their old friends and how exciting it’ll be to design their bedroom.
When you’re positive, your child will inevitably feed off your energy.
If you are constantly excited about the move, your child is more likely to be, too. If you are continually showing stress in front of your child, they will be anxious and stressed as well.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t acknowledge the difficulty of moving away — if you don’t validate their negative emotions, they may start to feel unheard — but every conversation should end on a positive note about how much you’re looking forward to this new chapter of life with them.
With empowerment and validation at the forefront of every conversation, you’ll be able to outline an exciting future for you and your family.
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