Moving to a new home in a new neighborhood or even a new city can be an exciting event because it marks the beginning of a new chapter in your life. But it can also be (and usually is to some degree) fraught with anxiety and fear of the new and unknown, especially for kids. No matter how much they seem to indicate otherwise, kids want and thrive on order and routine and predictability. But moving pretty well destroys all that for a time. And even more traumatic for kids is having to make new friends and adjust to a new school. So let’s see what you can do to help your kids adjust to a move in Downey when moving in the middle of the school year.
Make Sure You Maintain a Visibly Positive Attitude
If you really want to make moving in the middle of the school year as easy on your kids as possible, make sure you have a positive attitude yourself and that it shows. A good attitude is contagious. If you are upbeat and excited about the move, your kids will tend to be as well. Kids are always watching, and they take their cues from us.
Emphasize the Positive Aspects of the Move
Besides being positive yourself, you also need to emphasize the positive aspects of moving (even though you’re moving in the middle of the school year). Kids often see only the negative aspects of a move, for example, loss of friends and loss of the familiar. If, however, you can emphasize what is positive about the move, you can do a lot to allay their fears and lessen the sense of loss. You could, for example, point out all the neat stuff in the new neighborhood like the local playground, the nearby library, and the swimming pool and skating rink within walking distance. And it never hurts to play up all the good points about making new friends and attending a better school with more sports opportunities.
Give Your Kids Time to Adjust
Moving in the middle of the school year in Downey will certainly be hectic and fraught with difficulties, and, as a result, we often want our kids to adjust quickly so we can get back to normal. But you simply must be patient and give them time. A little patience and understanding on your part will make the transition much easier for them. It’s a huge emotional adjustment that takes time and varies from individual to individual.
Tour the School and Meet the New Teacher(s)
Often, the hardest part of moving in the middle of the school year (for kids) is having to pull up roots at one school and then being plunked down in a new school with little time to acclimate. There are, however, a couple of things you can do to make adjusting to the new school a little easier. The first thing is to tour the school beforehand. This way your kids will be familiar with the actual physical facility, will know their way around, and so will be less intimidated on that first day because they will know exactly where their classrooms and the cafeteria are. It’s also a good idea to take your kids to meet their new teachers during the tour if you can. On that first day at the new school, then, the teacher won’t be a stranger, and your kids will likely feel more at ease.
Sure, you’d like to move during the summer when school is out and the move will be less of a strain for your kids, but circumstances often say otherwise. Still, moving in the middle of the school year in Downey doesn’t have to be so traumatic if you follow our tips. You can also make everything smoother for both you and your kids by hiring a good local real estate agent.