Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Change

How do you help kids deal with change, especially those kids that are very routine-oriented? (i.e. with moves, going to school, getting into a schedule, additions to the family, etc)

3 comments:

Momma Basel said...

My 4 yo girl has a very difficult time dealing with change. She nearly breaks down into tears if we rearrange her room or even have us sit in different seats at dinner time.

At some point here, we're going to take 2 yo boy out of her room and put 9 mo girl in there. I think we'll do a circle chain to count down to the day we'll do it so she can be prepared.

Also, I've learned that 4 yo is a big fan of routine, so once we start something, she expects it to happen the same way. I'm fine with that too! She can hold me accountable to getting things done! :)

Anonymous said...

Yeah, once there is a rountine the kids are SO good at keeping me on track with doing it, too! They don't forget to remind me if I miss something! Last year we had a monthly calendar we'd check off the days as they came and if there was something significant that I wanted them to know about I'd draw a picture on there or a single word so they could anticipate it coming up. Maybe that could help? Sometimes I DON'T like telling the kids things before hand because then I have to keep hearing about it over and over and over until it happens!

Jenna Halstead said...

I have pretty easy going kids that adapt well to change, but I think it's partly because if there is a change coming we tell them plenty in advance and get SUPER excited about it in front of them. If possible, they get to help out with the change and make a small decision or two.

For instance, we just moved my 2 yo out of a crib and into a room with his 3 yo sister, whom has enjoyed having a "pink" girly room for the last year all to herself. We told them about it plenty in advance and chose a day (birthday) for it to start. We made a big deal about rearranging the room and got "special" new bed spreads that were gender-neutral (and were excited about the fact that they matched) and Charlie got to pick which bed she wanted to be hers. She also got to help pick out the new rug and got to pick out a teddy bear for Mason's bed (to give him as an exciting present for sleeping in a big boy bed) and Mason got to pick out a teddy bear for a special present for Charlie for sharing her room.

It seems that our lives have been full of change in the past 3 years (3 new kids, a new house, Phil's new job, etc....) so our kids are pretty used to it, and actually thrive in in as much as we do, but it has helped to be VERY excited about the next big thing..... even if it WON'T be a fun change, they'll open their mind to just about anything we put the word "Special" in front of. :)