Once it’s official—the family is moving—share the big news right away. That way, your kids can start getting used to the idea of the move sooner rather than later.
As moving day approaches, try to get a sense of how each of your kids is feeling about the move—excited, worried, or sad. Then help your kids to come up with practical solutions for dealing with the issues of greatest concern. For example, if one of your children is worried about losing touch with her friends, she could spend some time collecting their mailing addresses and email addresses and entering them into her address book.
Look for ways to address any specific fears your child may have related to the move. For example, “How will I find the washroom at my new school?” or “What if no one wants to be my friend?” A pre-moving day tour of the school combined with the chance to meet some of her future classmates may help to reassure your child that switching schools won’t be quite as horrible as she may be imagining.
Your child may find it comforting to savour connections with her old friends while she’s waiting for new friendships to bloom. Preteens and teens may wish to connect via instant messaging and email. Younger kids may enjoy writing letters, flipping through photo albums from the old neighbourhood, and picking up the phone to chat to the friend that they’re missing.
