Going through a transition and disrupting the normal flow of life is always a challenging task. However, you can understand well as adolescents that change might not be desirable every time but is essential for growth. When it comes to children, the difficulty intensifies many times. They are innocent beings and pure-hearted. When they attach to something, they do it wholeheartedly, and there is no holding back. And that is why leaving behind the little world around which their life revolves becomes an overwhelming task for them.
Kids are not at a level of mental maturity where they can comprehend the dynamics in which life operates. So the move may precipitate problems in their life and cloud their little minds with concerns. Instead of being unprepared for the shocks, your kids might face, prepare them for the expected problems beforehand. To highlight the issues and their potential solutions in this regard, here are some points for you.
1. Let Your Children Design Their Rooms:
If you want your kids to look to the future, and adjust to their new home, replace their dread with excitement. Their active participation is essential for this purpose. Let them take charge of doing some decoration and designing for your new house. If you plan on changing the furniture, make your kids choose it for their rooms within the allocated budget. Meanwhile, you can place the old furniture in a storage facility to protect it from extreme climate conditions that can cause damage. For example, if you live in Olympia, the wet rainy winters of the city can prove harmful to your woody furniture if stored improperly. You can browse through Olympia storage units and rent one nearby until you decide what to do with your goods. After setting up their new rooms, with shiny new furniture and crisp clean rugs and curtains, your kids would be more than eager to see and live in the final piece of art they created.
2. Have a Tour of Your New Town Before Moving:
Jumping right into the center of a completely unknown environment can be difficult, as you would have to adjust to it from scratch. Your children will miss their previous hometown more if they feel alienated and out of place in the new setup. To make sure that does not happen, have a tour of your new area with your kids and become acquainted with it. Explore the roads, parks, cinemas, playlands, and other fun activities your would-be town offers. You can also plan some fun nights at those places after you have moved so that your kids feel motivated about the change. After familiarizing themselves with the new environment, your kids would no longer view the new place as unknown, feeling more comfortable with the notion of living there.
3. Keep the Routine Intact:
Moving your life from its base to establish it somewhere else would require you to work tirelessly all day long. It is easy to overlook the routine chores and responsibilities towards your house and children in the shifting days. Although your hands will be loaded, balance your time and maintain the routine of your household. With all the recent disruptions in your children’s lives, the last thing they would want is a disturbed routine.
Do not skip the meals you regularly take and ensure to maintain the timings too. Also, stick to your rituals, e.g., if your family has a special dish on weekend nights, make sure to continue it at your new house after moving. Try to maintain regular sleep timings as well. In this way, your children will feel an old familiarity of homeness in their new setup.
4. Get to Know Your Neighbours:
Your daily life becomes much more convenient and fun if you have good relations with your neighbors. The piece of old life your children would probably miss the most are the dear friends they would have to leave behind. To fill the void, get to know your neighbors. Invite them over for lunch or have a casual evening stroll. While doing all that, make sure to involve your kids. Children make friends fast. You have to introduce them to their age fellows in the neighborhood and trust them with the rest! With new peers to spend time with, their feeling of loneliness would mitigate.
5. Visit the New School With Your Kids Before it Starts:
The biggest challenge your child would probably face due to the transition is not a new house but a new school. Studies are challenging enough without adding to the burden of making your place and winning some friends. Especially when everyone is already well-settled in the school, your child might face difficulty breaking in.
A little orientation before school starts would be a good idea to help out. Meet with the teachers and let your children see the campus. In this way, they will have a better idea of what to expect beforehand, instead of encountering surprise after surprise on their first day. They will also come to know about their new school system and will mold themselves accordingly.
6. Have a Thorough Discussion About the Move:
The most important thing for a successful move is to talk openly about it with your child. They might have some hidden fears and concerns shadowing their innocent minds and might be hesitant to share. Present your motives clearly before them and take them into your confidence. Guide them on how they can remain connected to their friends after moving away and ensure them frequent reunions. Most importantly, do not disregard their concerns as childish. They might seem so to a grown-up mind but would be a heavy burden for a child. So level out things as they will be smoother when you both would be standing on common grounds.
Conclusion:
Feeling withdrawn is a normal reaction when saying farewells to your hometown and favorite people. With all the hassles you would have to go through, the good news is that children are adjustable by nature and mold themselves quickly. You can spin this quality to your and their favor. Although they might have a hard time saying goodbye to their previous life, just a little effort from your side in harnessing their interest would enable them to make progress by leaps and bounds. They will soon be comfortable in their new space, and in no time, you will see your kids shining through their life again!
