As a parent, sometimes there’s just things you have to do in order to create a calmer home for your kids, your family as a whole. Sometimes, a part of that might involve something like having to move into a new home, maybe even downsizing to a smaller home. Sometimes a family moves into a smaller home because money gets tighter. Sometimes the old neighborhood stopped feeling safe. Sometimes a house got damaged, life changed, health changed, stairs stopped being practical, or the setup just stopped making sense. It’s just life, things just change in life, therefore, needs just change.
And yeah, none of that is exactly the kind of thing most parents dream about explaining to their kids over dinner. Because to an adult, downsizing can feel logical, necessary, overdue even. But to a kid, it can just feel like something got taken away. Which is fair enough, be it a bigger room, bigger yard, more space to run around, more familiar corners, gone.
So, okay, that’s why the adjustment part matters so much. The move itself is one thing. Helping kids not feel like their whole world got flipped inside out is the part that really sticks. But how can you go about this?
Don’t Try to Sell it too Hard
Why? Well, this is where a lot of people accidentally make it worse. A kid says the new place is smaller, or misses the old room, or gets upset that there isn’t as much space for toys, and then some adult starts rushing in with a big, cheerful speech about how this is exciting and fun and actually better. But that’s most likely not going to land. Actually, this definitely won’t land in the slightest here.
If you were in their position, would it work for you? Probably not, besides, kids are allowed to feel weird about it. They’re allowed to miss the old house. They’re allowed to be irritated that things feel different. They’re allowed to feel how they feel, so don’t try and guit trip them or force excitement.
Keep the Familiar Stuff Front and Center
Now, with that part said, one of the easiest ways to make a smaller home feel less unsettling is to keep the everyday little stuff as familiar as possible. Sure, chances are most of the decor and furniture will be the same, so to a small degree the enviroment will have some familiarity there. But it’s probably also going to help to just try and keep the same bedtime routine, same blanket, same cup, same books, same silly little habits before sleep.
Just Help Them See What the New Place Gives Back
For most kids, they focus more on the fact that it’s a new environment that’s smaller; that’s usually the focus here, at least. But as you probably know, when you were searching for apartments for rent, that a smaller place can still come with real benefits, and kids can understand that when it’s explained in a way that actually connects.
If there’s a park nearby, let them know, if it’s a luxury apartment with a pool, just let them know, if its close to school, definitely let them know. But chances are, there’s lot of great things about it, they just need to know and learn about it. They’ll eventually warm up.
