Let’s not sugar coat it. Moving is tough. Upending your life is never fun, especially if you’re a child. For a child, moving means leaving friends and literally everything they know, behind. While it would be tough to take all the stress out of moving, you can make things a bit easier on kids with these tips:
Social Media
If your child is 13 or over, they can stay in touch with friends through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. (with adult supervision, of course). If they’re younger, many schools have social media sites. Ask if your child can stay in touch through that. There are several social media sites specifically for children. Have them ask their friends to join.
The More Old Fashioned Way
If you prefer a more analog approach, have your children exchange addresses and phone numbers. Sure, texting will likely be the preferred method of communication, but if you give both your child and some of their friends some fun stationery and stamps, they can learn the joy of letter writing.
Introduce Them to Their Room
If you can, take your children to tour your new home before moving in. Create some fun and anticipation. Show them their bedroom, and ask how they’d like it decorated. Paint it a fun color. Even if it’s nuts, it’s just paint. If the new home is out of town, and you don’t have time to take your children, a video chat should work just fine.
Engage Them
Ask your children to help pack. Have them purge what they no longer love, and either donate them or let them participate in a yard sale.
Spark Their Imaginations
Tell your children that the move is a time to reinvent themselves. What might they like to do that they don’t do now? Do they want to take martial arts instead of soccer, theater instead of art?
No matter what, remember that children are resilient. They might put up a lot of fuss now, but once they make a few friends, they’ll be fine.
Featured image via Pixabay.
