Changing schools can be hard for children. A period of adjustment should be expected out of youngsters when they had to leave their comfort zones and their friends behind to start forming new bonds in a different school.
Parents have a huge hand in helping their children adjust and cope with a new school. One of the tips moms and dads can do to ease their kids' transition is to visit the school with the child before they officially start studying there, according to The Huffington Post.
Letting children check out their new school will help them get familiarized with their new environment. Parents should move into their new residence weeks before school starts so the child or teenager can have a chance to be familiar with their new neighborhood and meet other kids in the process.
Parents can organize a neighborhood get-together after moving to a new place. This way, both parents and their children would get the chance to meet new people and establish connections with their neighbors, About.com advised.
It's important for parents to remind their children that schools contain diverse groups of students and he/she will undoubtedly find his/her niche eventually, though it seems unlikely now. Being the new kid in a school also puts them on the radar of other children who are interested and want to be friends with them. This means that your child won't be the one stepping forward to meet new friends; the kids in the school would do it for them.
A new environment would provide children with an opportunity to reinvent themselves. They can join school organizations that they have shied away from in their previous school, or they can be more or less candid with their peers than before. Encouraging kids to be involved in sleepovers, playdates, and school clubs and activities would help ease children's transition to a new school as well.
Despite the advantages of a new school, there will come a point when it would take a toll on a child's mind. When this happens, parents should try their best to be good sounding boards and to subdue their kid's irrational worries and anxiety and focus on the legitimate ones.
Parents should listen and offer advice and reassurances when children air out their realistic fears. Remember that settling in a new place takes time, and the only thing parents can do for their kids during this challenging period is to support them and wait until they get comfortable with their new environment.
