Moving overseas can be stressful and it’s usual for parents to be worried about the impact an international move can have on their family, especially if they have young children.
Here are a few tips to help your children adapt to their new home in Kenya.
Make it visual
If your children haven’t yet seen their new home, when visiting the new location, take a camera or video recorder with you when you visit Kenya for the first time. Take pictures of the new home, the child’s room, the school and parks nearby. Your children will enjoy looking through the photos and this will get them familiar with the idea of moving.
A fun idea is to print out a map of the area, show them where they will go to school, their local community and get them to highlight with pens and stickers.
Celebrate old and new beginnings
For teens, a move that involves leaving friends, sports teams and favourite hangouts behind can be difficult. Help them say good bye to friends by hosting a final party. Emphasize how easy it is to keep in touch through e-mail, smartphones, skype and social media. Give each of your children an address book and make the farewell party an opportunity for friends to write in their personal contact information.
Let them participate
Allow your child’s creative flair to take control and participate in important decisions. Think about bringing home paint swatches so that your child can choose the colour of their new room. Let them pick out furniture so they start to look forward to the new life abroad.
Customized a treasure box
Give your child their own miniature packing box that can be customized with stickers, paints and pictures and used for a few of their favourite things. Ensure the box is small enough to place on the plane and travel with them to their new destination.