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Managing family change

Managing family change

All families go through changes but transitioning between different stages in your family’s life can often feel difficult or overwhelming. Families experience a number of changes in life, from moving to a new home to starting children at a new school or watching them become adults and fly the nest. These changes don’t have to become unmanageable family monsters.

Home

Most of us have experienced the pressures of moving to a new home but the impact of this on a family can sometimes be significant. For many children moving home will be the biggest change they have experienced, leaving them feeling unsure of their surroundings. Try and talk to your child if you are worried they feel unhappy. Be patient and treat all their concerns as valid and remember that they don’t have the life experience you do.

Putting your families’ own stamp on a home can make the change feel less drastic and minimise the negative impact of change. Try painting a child’s bedroom in a colour they like or allowing them to choose the layout of their new room. This can help you and your family feel ownership of your new space and better settle in.

School

Changing to a new school or even changing within the same school can be a daunting prospect to both children and their parents or carers. Finding the right school for your child as well as managing the move can be stressful but it is important to remember to communicate how you are feeling and find further support if you need to.

If your child is about to start a new school and feels anxious, try and visit the site beforehand so you and your child become more familiar with the surroundings. Lots of schools have simple maps to help new starters find their way around. These are a great way to give your child confidence in their new environment but also enables them to share their day with you visually.

Need more support?

Our free FamilyLine helpline is here to provide a listening ear, answer those particular parenting questions you have or help with guidance around more complex issues. All via telephone, text message or email for free.

Opening times:

Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm

Telephone: 0808 802 6666

Text message: 07537 404 282

Email[email protected]

Contacting us out of hours

Do you need FamilyLine but it’s out of our operation hours? You can either call back in our opening hours or if you’re in need now then you can contact our crisis line to get in touch with a trained professional.

Text FAMILYACTION to 85258

Our crisis messenger text service provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK. We know that getting the correct support at the correct time is so beneficial which is why we’ve introduced our crisis line. This service is delivered in partnership with Shout.

Join the conversation

Join the conversation on social media and share your family monsters using #MyFamilyMonsters. Let’s face our monsters together.