I’d moved home five times by the time I was 12. I’ve moved home twice with my own young kids. I understand what it’s like from both children's and parents' perspectives. Do I love moving home? Err, no! My reasons for moving home are likely to be similar to your reasons for moving home. The way we live today often means families have to, or choose to, move home. Sometimes these moves are across considerable distances. Moving home with kids is a common feature of family lifeIn my ‘How to Move Home with Kids’ blog, and forthcoming 'How to Move Home with Kids' book, I will guide you through strategies for making your home move with kids easier. I’m going to use more than my personal experience to help you though. The strategies and tips I’m going to share with you are based on evidence from my 18 years of researching with families who move home. I’m a Social Scientist (you can see my work Here). I specialise in family residential mobility and migration. I’ve researched with hundreds of amazing families just like yours and I want to help you and your kids move home as successfully and happily as possible! For a lot of people, moving home can feel like a time of rupture, fear and anxiety – for children as well as adults. These feelings are really common. There are reasons why moving home is in the ‘top ten’ most stressful life events (see https://thriveglobal.com/stories/10-most-stressful-life-events/) and that was without even thinking about moving home during a pandemic or after a 'lockdown'! It’s strange though, isn't it? We just don’t seem to talk honestly about how hard moving home with kids can be. It’s like there’s an assumption that because millions of families move home every year, it must be easy. Moving home with kids isn’t easy but with the right advice it can be made easier. We can start by listening to our kidsIf you are moving home with your kids - whatever the reasons or circumstances - I promise you that listening to them will help.
That sounds obvious, doesn't it? But listening to children, and I mean really listening (I have to tell myself this too - no 'phones allowed!) to find out how they feel about moving home is really important. Trying to meet your children's needs during the moving process, as far as possible, is really important. Children knowing that you are keen to listen to them, and trying to meet their needs as much as possible, is fundamental to moving home with kids successfully. Just listening to kids can make a big difference to how your move goes. If you are moving home, ask your kids how they are feeling about it. Ask your kids how you can help them with their needs. You might think you know what they will say so you don’t need to ask them. Just try it though, I promise you it helps. You might have done this already. Just keep asking, every so often, and really hear what they are saying to you. We all like to be listened to, let's be honest :-) If you're trying to figure out how to have a successful home move, I'd love to help you :-) You can contact me using the button below.
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AuthorNaomi Tyrrell PhD Would you like to receive future blog posts by email? Sign up here.
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