01 Nov Moving During the School Year – Practical Parenting Advice
Life has never been a straight line. That means that we don’t have control over every single thing in life. What do you do when the long-awaited promotion comes in the middle of the school year? What do you do if you finally got your dream job but it is in another town or city? They say opportunity knocks once. So you can’t just lock out the opportunity because it is somehow inconvenient. The dilemma only gets worse if you have kids who are of school going age.
Despite the necessity to move, the move should be as smooth as possible. Your children will always top your list of priorities. You definitely don’t want their social life to take a nosedive just because you are relocating. Regardless of their age, they need you around than any other time. Some may be excited about the move while others may feel bad being separated from friends and normal routine. But it’s never that bad. There are ways of lessening the bad feeling.
The biggest issue is how your children will adjust to their new school. For this reason, it is important to take them for a pre-visit to their new school. Familiarity will make them comfortable during the actual move. Confusing your classroom could be quite frustrating. It is also important to talk to new teachers about your children in depth. Their strengths, weaknesses, favorite sport and all that. It is wise to carry some records from their old school. This helps the new teachers to know the best approach on your child.
Having to leave friends behind may sound trivial but to a child, it may carry significant weight. The move should not bring a sudden halt to the kid’s past friendships. Help your child to keep in touch with his/her old friends. They can communicate through phone or even physical visits once in a while.
The good thing about moving mid-school year is (if this is your case), by the time school closes, your child will already have built new friendships hence won’t be lonely the entire holiday. The teachers will also have spent quite some time on old students. They will, therefore, have a chance to closely assess your child. This makes them better placed to understand their abilities and weaknesses.
Our last piece of advice: Don’t do it all by yourself, Neighbors Relocation Services is here to help you. Let us do all the heavy lifting on your next move, this will give you time to focus on what is most importat to you. After all, children are of more importance than relocating.