We are all aware that moving is stressful and that a relocation is a tough period and calls a lot of anxiety to knock at your door. But all that is mostly for the adults as we are prone to thinking too far ahead into the future and allowing our fears to affect our decision-making. But how exactly does the moving process affect the children? If you have moved before, you’ll eventually get used to the change and you will be adapting to the new lifestyle as soon as possible. Kids, however, do take more time to adapt to changes and relocations might be a bit harder on them.
Health
What with all the packing, bringing out all the dirty items from the loft and garage to decide what you will be taking with you, there will be a lot of dust and dirt out. And with the natural curiosity of the child, they will shove their nose right in the middle of it to see everything there is to see. Packing becomes a slight hazard with the kid about and you should take care to dust off and clean a bit all the old things you present for the kid to see. Other than that, unless the new environment at the new home is drastically different and brings some kind of allergy from the garden, your kid should be healthy and fine, and ready to take on any move.
Emotions
A child’s emotions are a roller coaster even in a state of calm. With all the anxiety that surrounds the house during a relocation, they might go completely out of control. The first thing you need to do before a move is to prepare the child for the change and, if possible, to actually get them excited for the move. If the child finds the change a good thing, the transition will be seamless. But if the child is not prepared, they will find the changes devastating as children usually don’t like to be taken out of their comfort zones. The period of getting used to the new surroundings can take quite a while if the child is hostile towards the change.
You need to take care of your kid and their feelings; you need to make them understand why the move is taking place and why they should welcome it.
Growing Process
Understanding the move is key to the growth of the child. Their character needs to be built and they need to realise why something is happening and how that will affect its present and future. If the child understands, they will take things more calmly and even if the change is bothering them, they will at least attempt to embrace it before the process of adaptation starts. Accepting the change will help both you and the kids cope with the upcoming move and make the transition as easy as possible.
And once the child achieves understanding and the adaptation process gets into gear, they will have a much easier time with other moves, and they will take the changes as an adult easier. After all, one day they will probably call moving companies and removal services for a relocation as well, and early understanding will make all that much, much easier.
Help your kid cope with the relocation to help them grow as a person.
Sometimes early knowledge and removing them from their comfort zone is a bad thing, but you can change that if you provide them with all the answers they need to handle the change. Remember, they are not as afraid of the move as they are confused, so if you explain everything and dispel the confusion, they will find their own way to deal with the moving process. After that no move will be able to shake up the kid and you will even gain a trusty little helper.
