While moving your entire family from one home to another is always going to be stressful, what can make this event even more stressful is if your move is going to take place in the middle of the school year. Even if your new neighborhood is great for families and you know you’ll all be happier in the long run, taking your kids out of school and starting mid-year somewhere else can be hard.
So to help you and your family learn how to cope with these upcoming challenges, here are three tips for moving your family to a new home in the middle of the school year.
Help Your Family Focus On The Positive
Depending on the ages and maturity levels of your kids, they might be more prone to focus on what they’re losing or giving up in this move rather than what positive things could come out of these big life changes. If these are the attitudes you’re dealing with, ApartmentGuide.com suggests that you do everything in your power to help your family focus on the positive.
Even if you’re not feeling extremely happy and excited about the move yourself, your kids will often take your lead for how to feel about an unfamiliar situation. So if you’re able to stay positive and encourage your kids to accept and enjoy these new changes, the transition could do much smoother for everyone.
Spend As Much Time In The New Neighborhood As Possible Beforehand
Jumping right into a new life in a new town and school can be scary for kids. To minimize the fear they might be feeling, Marian White, a contributor to Moving.com, advises that you and your family try to spend as much time in your new neighborhood as possible prior to actually moving in.
If you’re able to show your kids where they’ll be living and where they’ll be going to school before the transition is in motion, they may be able to better handle this upheaval. And if you’re wanting to take this idea to the next level, you might even want to visit the school, meet teachers and other students, and get to know your new neighbors before you’re moved into your new home.
Find Ways For Everyone To Get Involved
To really start to integrate your family into this new area, one of the best things you can do is to get everyone in your family involved in social activities there.
According to Diane Schmidt, a contributor to The Spruce, signing your kids up for sports, groups, activities and more in preparation for your move can help them find their place much sooner and assist them in making friends in this new school environment.
If your family’s going to be moving in the middle of the school year, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you make the best of this situation.