It’s hard to make the kid understand that the new home will be in a place far away from the present one. When we feel so connected to the place where we stay for a considerable time then the kid must be attached too. Think about a child who has stayed in a place, has a proper routine of either staying at the house or a mix of school, park, neighbors etc. For the child, it’s second to nature. Their few years in the world has customized their activities and thought process that the places they have seen so far have somehow limited their ‘schedule and thought process’. For a young kid, who can easily tell his preferences or likes and dislikes, it gets harder to convince about this new change.
A child in my house has created such a situation while we moved from Dubai to Abu Dhabi recently. She can speak clearly and is quite interactive. She is amazingly social and has made more friends than me at the age of 3 year and six months. Let’s look at her introspect – she can tell the way for her home left to the right exactly each time. She remembers her address ( present) word for word. She knows which floor she is on. She has her way of telling what time she can go to the park. She has developed a specific routine of waking up each day, getting ready for the school in her school uniform, carrying her school bag in a specific school van, following a specific route to and fro. She is aware of the switches in the bedroom and other parts where she drags her chair and pushes them as needed. So, this child when is asked to go to the new house replies with
1. But it’s too far away.
2. I am going to miss my bathtub.
3. Is this India?
4. Mom Papa will you come with me too?
5. I don’t want to leave my park.
6. But, my teacher will miss me.
7. Can I bring my princess bike with me?
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All these questions address the mental state of the kid who is absolutely comfortable in the present scenario and is now afraid of moving and thus the tiny brain is coming up with these excuses. Trying to avoid the big move?
I am too not at ease with this situation and to make the life better, I am trying the following methods for my little one
- Taking her favorite toy all along so that she can feel a familiarity with the new house.
- Keeping the furniture the way she is used to seeing, well mostly.
- By not interrupting her routine- that essentially includes park time, play time with parents.
- To make her feel connected, I am trying to talk to her about her school, her friends, her teacher.
- Calling up some old friends so that she can chat with them.
- Making sure she is having adequate rest and proper meals.
- Asking a helping hand from her while we are unpacking. This way she is busy and a happy to help a child.
- Luckily, we do not have internet connection for almost 4 days and she is completely away from the TV and Mobile. This way, there is zero screen time and all family time.
- We are encouraging her to make new friends while exploring new parks.
- Asking her about how she feels and having an open conversation about it gives more room to know how she is overcoming the fear of the new place.
After all, all that she has seen so far meant a world to her. Although the new place, the new location is a little complicated for her to adapt, she is going to get stronger – mentally and physically. The perks are
- She is becoming adaptive.
- Her immune system is growing.
- She is becoming more social.
- She is traveling places.
- She is learning about new culture and languages.
- She is getting stronger psychologically.
- In her early learning days, she is being exposed to many new aspects.
We think that it’s not easy moving with a kid, but it’s not so difficult too. What would you do if you were to move house too?
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