When I was growing up, my dad was in the Air Force, and, as you might guess, we moved around a bit. Not as much as other military families I know, but enough. Moving for little kids - and teens - can be a complicated thing. It can be fun and exciting, but also scary and unsettling. Granted, most kids settle into a new house or a new school just fine, but there is definitely a period of adjustment....just like what we may experience too.
Learning how to deal with change and new situation is a skill we can really help our kids with - and one we may still struggle with too. This week, we'll tackle change and our kids and how we can help them when their world is disrupted for a bit.
One of the main things to do: prepare your kids. When you know a move or big change is coming, start talking about it. Not all of the time, mind you, but enough that they have the opportunity to talk about all of their feelings as they come up.
If you are moving to a new city, do some research together about all of the cool things that city has to offer. If you are moving into a new house, look at pictures and floor plans, have your children help pick out paint colors for their bedrooms and where you can put the couch in the living room. Go over what will happen before and after the move with their toys (they will go in a box, the box will go on a truck and arrive at the new house). Hearing their opinions and letting them know about the new thing at hand lets them feel a bit more in control of this change that is for the most part, out of their control.
Do you have any big changes coming up? How are you talking about them with your kids?
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No, we don't have planned changes right now. I like the idea of talking about what will happen before and after the move.
No big changes yet. There will be in the next year and half with the twins starting school. We just discuss everything with everyone present. You know when there's kids playing sports, we have a calendar set up and everyone knows who's going where and what the game plan is etc. It helps a bunch :)
I maybe going back to work after taking 5 years off so I have been talking with the kids about that. They are totally okay with it.
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- HeatherNYC
on Jun. 4, 2012 at 12:00 AM