Help Your Kids Make a Success of an Upcoming Move

Hello World!  Welcome Friends!  Moving to a new location, especially if it is far away, can present special challenges for your children. They have to leave an environment that they are comfortable in. They will have to make new friends, get used to new sights and sounds, and adjust in a variety of other ways. The following tips are useful for parents who want to help their children make a success of an upcoming move.

One of the first things that a parent needs to remember is that the child is going to reflect a lot of what the parent feels and thinks. Show by your words and example that the upcoming move is exciting and will have variety of benefits. While you may be tired and have many of your own concerns and anxieties, try to focus on the positive things when discussing the move with your children.

When it is possible, discuss exciting things that the children will enjoy when they arrive at the new location. Help them to pack all of their belongings into special boxes that are marked with their name. That way, when the moving company places them in the new location, the children will easily be able to find their belongings. Emphasize the exciting parts of what living in the new location will be like. Talk about the fact that they will have a room of their own. Talk about how the room will be decorated. Talk about how great it will be to have a large backyard, swimming pool, nearby park, or something else that will get the child excited about living in the new location.

Do what you can ahead of time to help your children, especially your teenagers, meet new friends in the new location. If possible, visit their new school ahead of time. If they are involved in certain sports or other activities, try to visit locations where they will meet other young people ahead of time. This way, they will already have new friends in the new location before the move even happens.

It is important to be realistic when it comes to what your children will expect from moving to a new location. For this reason, avoid making comparisons. No two locations are going to have the exact same benefits or disadvantages. There will not be the same people at each location. However, if you focus on the positive things about the old location as well as the new location, you can help your children see things in a much more positive light.

It is good to realize that there may be some heartbreak involved in moving to a new place, such as transferring to a new school. This may cause some crying, tantrums, or other sad or negative behavior. While you do not want to allow your children to wallow in their negative feelings, do allow your children to express themselves. Keep communication open so that they can tell you why they feel sad, what they miss, or what concerns they have about the future.

After moving to the new location, try to stick to a normal routine. This is going to help your children to adjust as smoothly as possible. If your family always eats certain meals together, stick to that routine. Or if there is a family game night, make sure that you continue with this routine.

Moving can be stressful and difficult. However, there are a lot of positive things that come from a move. Help your children to focus on those things and they will be much more likely to adjust to the new location.

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