3 Ways To Make Moving To A Different Country Easier For Your Kids

Moving can be hard on anyone, but especially for children, leaving your home can be particularly traumatic. Add on top of this that you’ll be moving to a completely new country and you might wonder how your child will emotionally survive. And while children are pretty resilient in general, there are definitely things you can do to help make this ordeal go over well and progress as smoothly as possible. To show you how this can be done, here are three ways to make moving to a different country easier for your kids.

Help Them Make Friends

Depending on the age and personality of your kids, one of the biggest concerns might be their ability to make friends. Having friends is vital to the emotional health of a child, so this should also be something that you try to help facilitate. According to Helen Maffini, a contributor to The Telegraph, you may want to try to setting up playdates for your kids or joining a group where other parents and kids meet. Additionally, you could also encourage your children to take part in a group or club where they could meet children their own age who are also interested in the same things that your children are passionate about. By having a local friend, your child will find it much easier to adjust to this new move.

Move During The Right Time Of Year

If your children are school-aged, you’re going to want to think about the time of year in which you move and how that might affect their education. According to Carole Hallett Mobbs, a contributor to ExpatChild.com, you should look into school schedules and enrollment terms before you decide when to move to a new country.

While your child can start school whenever they arrive, it’s generally much easier for the child if he or she can start at the beginning of a term rather than right in the middle. The first step is to find the best school in the area, to buy the appropriate books and stationary supplies, and obtain the appropriate school uniform. Once all of these preparations have been made, your child can start school.

Try To Keep Your Same Routines

Once you’re in this new country and have started to settle into your new home, ExpatArrivals.com advises that you keep your child’s routine and schedule as consist as you can. If your family had some normal things you did in your previous home, try to continue doing those things in this new country. By maintaining a daily or weekly routine for things, your child will begin to feel safe and secure in this structured environment. Things will feel more normal and more manageable if they’re familiar in this way.

If you plan to move your family to a new country in the near future, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you make this whole process go as smoothly as you can for both yourself and for your children.