Just go ahead and think back to your own childhood for a second. Do you remember the house you grew up in, the one where you knew every corner and every creak in the floorboards? Maybe there’s those little things that you love and miss dearly about your childhood home. Well, leaving that behind was emotional, even if you were excited about the new place, right?
Now, think about your kids because they’re in the same situation too. Once you become a parent, moving your family, you learn some things, specifically, you learn the “right” way to go about this new step in life. Actually, children often see it as closing the door on a chapter they weren’t ready to finish. So that’s exactly why helping them say goodbye in a thoughtful way matters more than you might think.
You Need to Acknowledge that it’s Hard
Okay, so this one really needs to be the one to start it all out first. So, kids don’t always have the words for their feelings, but leaving a home they’ve loved can be heartbreaking. So, just telling them to cheer up or “focus on the new place” doesn’t help. It often makes them feel like their sadness is being brushed off.
Sometimes the most powerful thing is just saying, “I know this is hard.” Sure, it doesn’t solve anything, but at least acknowledging that they’ll miss their room, their backyard, or even the squeaky stairs they jumped on every morning makes them feel understood. That’s what they need, they need to know that you understand. So, once those emotions are out in the open, it becomes easier to guide them toward the positives of what’s coming next.
Shift the Focus to What’s Ahead
So, it’s really important that your kid doesn’t dwell on the past. Actually, once the goodbye has been honored, kids need something to look forward to. Ideally, you should just highlight what they’ll love about the new place. This is usually the key here (even if they resist). For example, maybe it’s a bigger bedroom, a park down the street, or even just a chance to pick out new bedding. But they need to know that there is something to look forward to that isn’t speculation.
If it’s a big relocation, like long distance move to another state, you can make the journey itself part of the adventure. Meaning, you’ll need to show them the route on a map, let them pick travel snacks, or create a playlist together for the drive. Again, it’s mostly smaller things here, but looking ahead balances out the heaviness of saying goodbye.
Keep Pieces of the Old Home
Kids are surprisingly sentimental, and little keepsakes can mean a lot. So, if possible, let them choose something small to take from the old house. Again, it can be something really small, like a doorknob, a patch of wallpaper, or even a stone from the backyard. To an adult, it’s just stuff. To a child, it’s proof that the old home isn’t disappearing forever. It might even help to take photos of the house too for them, all these things really do matter.