Do you remember the cold in your belly when you changed jobs or faced a new project? Well, these changes always mess up with us, it wouldn't it be different with our children.
Children (as well as adults, but in a unique way) cling to the environments they know, the corners of the house, the objects and visual identifications in the walk to school, even the smells, textures...
When a change / moving happens however, children need time to cope with the loss and reconstruction of the new. This impact in their lives and is felt and demonstrated in many ways and varies from child to child and, in particular, according to their age.
Changing/ Moving school usually frighten parents, so it's worth repeating:
We all need to work together to cope this challenging time and resilient and informed parents will have tools to easy their anxiety and this way not affecting much or transfering to the child at this moment!
It is important to highlight the positive parts, that your child will make new friends, and will learn to like the new teachers and that everything will stay well.
It's essential to welcome the feelings that may arise with this transition, such as sadness, insecurity, frustration, fear or anxiety and look at them with affection and attention and speak up about and try to direct them in the best way, not to not make the child stop feeling the way she is feeling, because this feeeling is natural, is part of the changing/ moving process.
This change is not easy because it involves one of the most important social aspects in childhood, that is the socialization and relationships of the school.
A few tips for the parents:
Let the child talk about what they are feeling and be available to listen and help.
Also, is important if possible, to be aligned with the schools (the one that stays and the one in the future) about the approach to support your child in this transition.
Ask the old school for a class photo and even ask the children in the class to write or draw a goodbye card..
- Welcome and share challenges and learning from day to day, this will bring a notion of the family working as a team. The big gain here, is the sense of togetherness that comes from that process.
Watch a movie as a family: our recommendation- INSIDE OUT
The film was released by Disney in 2015, here the viewer gets in touch with the different emotions of the protagonist Riley, an 11-year-old girl who, when changing from city and consequently, school and home, begins to live frustrations arising from the their new adaptation process. In the film the character goes through a lot of sensations and emotions, and deals with a lot.
Fear and anguish but in the end everything ends well and she adapts and enjoys the change very much.
We hope this post supports any family going through this process of moving/ changing schools.