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5 Tips to Ease Your Military Child’s School Transition
Having to move children from one school to another is tough for any parent. Military life is challenging, and children often must cope with relocation and leaving their friends and social activities behind to start over in a new place.
Here are some things you can do to make the transition from school to school a bit easier:
1.Make the student a part of the process.
Talk to your child about what they like about their current school and about the options for schools in their new area. Taking your child’s opinion into consideration helps them feel heard and gives you as a parent a new understanding about how your child thinks and what they enjoy in school.
2.Meet and greets can add friendly faces.
Starting over at a new school can be very scary for a child. Take a tour of the school ahead of time to help alleviate some wonder and fear of the unknown. Meeting some staff, maybe even their new teacher, can help by having a friendly and familiar face there when they start school.
- Make copies of everything.
Even though chances are they can have their records transferred easily by filling out a few forms, it can be easy to get things lost or misplaced during a move from one school to another. Always make copies of any records or transcripts to ensure the transition to the new school is a smooth one.
- Moving doesn’t mean saying goodbye for good
Teach your child that moving doesn’t mean goodbye for good; it means goodbye for now. While it is exciting and scary to start a new chapter and make new friends, it doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye forever to the old ones. Make sure your children know that it is exciting to have friends all over the country or the world, and that friends can keep in touch over social media, email, video chat, and the phone.
- Have things to look forward to.
To make the transition to a new environment easier, have things to look forward to in the future. Whether it is exploring your new city or joining a new extracurricular activity, encourage your children to get excited about the move by looking forward to new adventures.
Military life is all about change and adjusting to the unknowns that get thrown your way. It is important to make sure your children are prepared and feel supported. Transitions can be challenging, but with a little preparation it is possible to make it a good experience for the entire family.
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