Although moving house can be a hugely exciting experience, for the younger members of the family, it can be a difficult time, and some children may struggle to settle in their new home initially.
Help Your Child Settle in a New Home
However, this is perfectly normal, and may just require some extra patience and understanding while they adjust to their new environment, and we’ve compiled a list of four ways you can help them feel more comfortable.
Create a Routine
Routine is an essential component of helping a child feel settled and happy, and establishing a routine can help to control some of those uncertain feelings that smaller children may find harder to explain.
To establish a routine, you may want to use the same steps from your old house, whether that’s bedtime at a certain time with an added bathtime or story, or set mealtimes.
To assist with implementing your routine, you could use routine charts to track good behaviour and create a schedule.
Buy a New Bed
Buying a child a new bed can help them settle at night, especially when they help with selecting their own bedding.
As for anyone, a bed is a safe place to retreat to at the end of the day, and while some children have fears surrounding the dark, helping to style their own bed may help them to settle faster in their new home.
You can use bed specialists like Archers Sleepcentre to help you choose a fun children’s bed that your child can feel right at home in.
Get Your Children Involved in the Planning
Moving house requires a lot of forward planning, so why not get your child involved?
This may not be quite so successful with very young children, but older children can assist with packing up their belongings and labeling boxes, picking paint swatches for their new bedroom.
This activity will help them to feel more involved in the moving process and will mean they will be more likely to feel at home in their new house.
Create a Mini Kitchen for Your Child
If you have young children, creating a mini station for them in the kitchen may help them to feel involved with your daily activities.
There are all sorts of different types of model kitchens you can find for children, but companies like Petite Amelie make timeless wooden designs that are perfect for any small budding chef!
Whether your children are learning how to interact with real food, or just playing pretend, they can feel like they’re a part of your everyday routine easily with a toy kitchen.
Of course, if you have older children, you could even have them help you out with the real cooking for some bonding time that will give you the opportunity to check in with their progress and how they’re settling in the new house.
Do you have any tips for helping your child settle in a new home? Leave your answer in the comments section below!
