Helping your kid adjust to a new home and neighborhood

Adjusting to a new home can be difficult for your kids. It’s a time where they have lost their sense of stability, and everything feels very new. To make your move more of an exciting time for your child, there are a few things you can do. Most of these points come down to making your child feel valued and more included in order to help your kid adjust to a new home and neighborhood.

When a child is still young, everything is new to them. So making a life change as significant as moving house can seem very overwhelming. While you know that life will be mostly the same, just in a different location, your child might be worrying about much smaller details which to them feel like massive changes. It can be a very scary time for a child if not handled correctly, especially if this is your first move with your kid.

Set up your kid’s room first

Setting up your kid’s room first will not only make them feel more included but also mean that they have something to occupy themselves with while you focus on other tasks. Let them choose the color (even if you’re against it) and how they want their furniture arranged. Bring them with you to the shops when you are looking for what to decorate their room with. Making them feel more included in this step is the best way to ensure they are happy with their new environment, which will make adjusting to a new home a much quicker and easier transition.

Your kid will adjust more quickly if they feel comfortable in their new room.

Alt-text: A girls’ room decorated beautifully in her new home.

This is something you could even do before you move to make them more excited and less nervous. Have them draw pictures of their dream room, make them think about colors and what furniture they want in there so that they’ll already be excited about a new home before you’re even there!

Include your kids in decisions

If you’re thinking about how to set up the garden or what color to paint your kitchen, ask your child for their opinion. Even if their ideas go entirely against what you want, by asking, you’re automatically making them think about how things can improve instead of how different everything is. You may even find that your kid has good ideas too!

If your kids are busy helping you, they don’t have time to miss their old home.

Understandably, you won’t want your kid included in every detail of setting up your new home, but here are some areas where they could help.

Garden

A garden is an area where a small amount of change can make a massive difference in a kid’s mind. Maybe they want a trampoline, or a football goal, or a playhouse. Giving them a space where they feel they are in control – and more importantly, they can use up all of their energy will go a long way to helping your kid adjust to a new home.

Living Room

Much of the quality time that you spend with your child will be here. This is where you’ll all gather to watch movies or TV, play board games, etc. Making a small change to include your child will make them feel much more comfortable and excited about being in your new home. Something as simple as getting them their own chair or beanbag will make them feel more important and lead to them adjusting much more quickly.

Common spaces

Hallways are a great space to let your kids help with. For example, if your kids have been doing art at school, ask them if there’s anything they’d like to put up on the wall. Even if this is only temporary, it will make the time that they spend adjusting to your new home much more comfortable as they’ll have constant reminders that they are valued members of the family.

Kitchen

Obviously, you want to be in control of the kitchen as it’s commonly regarded as the heart of a home. However, small touches to make your kid feel more included could go a long way for them. Consider buying them their own plates, cups, and cutlery, so that they feel they have their own mark on your new home already.

If this is your first move with your kid, and you have moved very far from your old home, perhaps even had to fly with your kid, consider bringing pictures or little things to remind your child of home. This should help your kid adjust to a new home and neighborhood. You don’t want too many reminders, though; otherwise, they may start to become homesick.

Find friends for them nearby

This is especially important if your move to your new home means your kid is changing schools in the middle of a school year. Finding your kids new friends in the neighborhood will allow them to focus their attention on something other than how new and overwhelming everything is.

New  friends will help your kid adjust much quicker

If your kid is of school age, talk to them when they get home from school. Ask them who they’ve been hanging out with and tell them that they should invite their new friends over to play. Showing off their new home to their new friends will make them feel more comfortable and in control of their environment. You can also ask your kid if they want to invite any of their old friends over. As long as you haven’t moved too far away, this will allow them to show their new environment to an old friend, so they don’t feel they’re losing touch with the life they had before.

At the end of the day, your kid isn’t scared of moving home. They’re afraid of how much change is happening all at once, and that life in your new home won’t be as good for them as it was. Following the steps outlined above will make your child feel included and that they’re valued as part of the family. Making their ideas more valuable to you will boost their confidence and leave them wondering about more ways to improve, which will help your kid adjust to a new home and neighborhood much quicker.