Solutions for Making a Smooth Move with Children
November 27th, 2007
You Say: “Guess what? We’re moving to a new house!”
The Reaction from the Kids: Anxiety. Young children are creatures of habit and like the certainty of routines.
How to Make it Better:
- Be empathetic. Saying “I’ll miss our home too, but we’ll learn to love our new house just as much” validates your child’s concerns.
- Present the move as a win-win deal. Thell him what’s in it for him. Instead of saying you’re moving so that you’ll be closer to your new job, say, “I won’t have to spend so much time commuting to work when we move, so we’ll have more time together.”
- Talk up the new house. Focus on what’s better. maybe he’ll have his own room, a pool, or a bigger yard.
- Make the move concrete. Visit the new area one afternoon–drive to his new school, check out the parks and playgrounds, and have lunch at the local restaurant. If you’re moving out of state, borrow a book on your new state and learn interesting facts together: the state motto, the biggest city, which famous people were born there.
- Help boost his social skills. If your child is worried about making new friends, reherse things he can say to break the ice. For example, he could ask another child what baseball or football team he likes or if he has a skateboard. Leaving old friends behind will be on his mind too, so remind him that he’ll be able to stay in touch with phone calls, e-mails, and photos.
See another article in Parenting Magazine – http://www.parenting.com/parenting/article/0,19840,646942,00.html
or this one in Parents Magazine -http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/4436.xml
Categories: Real Estate
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