Moving home is generally a tumultuous time and one of high stress. Although we all do our best to protect our children, it’s only natural that they’ll pick up on tension and moving somewhere unfamiliar can leave them feeling a little unsure of themselves. In this article, we highlight some easy ways to help your kids settle into your new home faster.
Although children are hugely resilient, often far more so than we give them credit for, the stresses and strains of moving somewhere new can impact their wellbeing. During the first few days and weeks in particular, you’ll want to make sure you look out for some of the telltale signs that could point to distress.
These signs could include your child becoming quieter and more withdrawn, acting out and misbehaving more than usual, seeking attention and affection or other personality or behavioural changes that seem unusual or out of character.
To help mitigate the impact of moving, these are some of the things that you can do to help settle your kids into their new home faster.
Talk to them
It might sound obvious, but keep your kids in the loop. Even toddlers will know that things are different and will feel stress in the home, so put time aside to tell them what’s going on.
Ask them how they are feeling, share a little bit about how you are feeling too and give them the opportunity to ask questions and share any worries that they might have with you.
This will give you ample opportunity to answer their questions and help put their mind at ease and is a great tactic you can use throughout their lives to routinely check in on them and give them the love and support they need to thrive.
Distract them
Organise a play date or treat them to a new toy, book, game or learning aid. This is a great way to distract your child’s attention and creative play, gaming and reading can all be effective ways to relieve stress.
Not only will the kids be kept occupied whilst you get on with unpacking and getting settled in, but finding the right distraction will help keep them calm amidst all the frantic activity.
Give them their own space
Moving into a new home means unfamiliar territory, so getting their own space in their bedroom set up as quickly as possible will give them a safe and secure base to call their own.
Let them get involved in getting their room set up, finding places to put their toys and organising their room so they can start to settle in.
Get them excited
Although you may have your own anxieties about moving somewhere new, finding new friends, starting a new job and settling the kids into a new school, you’ll want to make sure you do all you can to get them excited about the changes.
The ability to embrace change is a valuable life skill and a big move is a great time help them hone their ability to thrive in the face of change.
Talk to them about making exciting new friends, having old friends come over to play, finding new places to explore, fun days out at the local park and anything else you can think of that they’ll love about their new home, school and the area they’re living in.
Moving home is just as tough for adults, so we’ve put together a detailed guide on How To Survive Moving In & Living As A Couple For The First Time and some handy Tips That Will Help You Settle Into Your New Home Faster.