Changing schools is never easy on your children. Unlike adults, they feel even the slightest of changes in surrounding environment. Imagine you are moving to another school, possibly in another city or state. What can possibly go wrong!? Let’s picture that transition from a child’s point of view
The effects of changing schools catch with you on day one. Changing schools mean new teachers, new friendships and importantly, new set of bullies to handle (pun intended). We didn’t even go till changes in cuisine, modes of transport, culture, etc… In short, moving to another school is tiresome. So, how do you prepare your child to moving to another school?
Prepare your child to moving to another school
Discuss with your child
Not involving your child prior to the move can be such a blunder. Discuss with your child, well in advance. Unless, they are toddlers, they appreciate knowing the details. When we talk about discussing, we refer to active discussions. It should be more about getting inputs from your little one rather than just making announcements.
Ask your little one to draw, talk or list down things he/she look to do in new school. For instance, if the new school has a basketball court, see if your child is interested in it. Regardless, get to know about his/her worst fears about moving to the new school. Spend time discussing even the tiniest of concerns.
Kids can take decisions
From paint color to neighborhood, your children can take part in decision making. They can be part of the decision making, but not the whole of it. The idea is to make them feel they are part of the process. At the least, they should be able to pick the color of their room. Let them have a say in selection of nearby amenities such as parks, pools, etc…
Encourage him/her to make friends
It’s a huge plus, if your child already has friends in the new school. See if there are other children moving to the same place as you. Introduce them as friends to your junior. You can take it a step further and arrange for them to arrive at school together on the first day.
Moreover, it’s very easy to make friends these days. Relax a bit on your no-to-internet rules (if you have one in place). Starting from the MySpace days, teens make friends in new school this way. Indeed, social media makes us one big community. Children, schools and even parents are connected.