When a family makes a decision to move to a different home, a new environment or even another country, they may lose sight of the emotional needs of the child and the psychological and mental impact of the move on him.
Some research shows that moving - especially moving to a new school - may lead to depression and psychological deterioration in the child, according to the age stage.
In this report, we review how relocation affects a child's mental health, and how they can help them have a smooth start in a new home and environment if the decision to relocate is necessary.
Aggressive and addictive tendencies
A study - published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2016, in a research conducted on 1.5 million children for a period ranging between 20 and 25 years - revealed that those who moved frequently during their childhood from one house to another, or one city to another, showed higher rates of suicide attempts, violence, crime and disease. Mental and substance abuse, children in the age group of 12 to 14 years were most at risk.
Interestingly, the study also found that the effect of relocation did not change across socioeconomic statuses, meaning that the social level or well-being of the new household settling site had no effect.
Therefore, regardless of the parents' financial situation, children may still be at high psychological risk after frequent relocations from their childhood home and environment.
Children are still at high psychological risk after frequent relocations from their childhood home and environment (pixels)
More likely to suffer social unrest
On the other hand, experts have suggested that the transmission process may have almost no negative impact on children under the age of five.
According to a study conducted by the US MacArthur Foundation, "children between birth and kindergarten had problems with social-emotional functioning, but not cognitive performance in kindergarten, due to family housing moves."
This means that your little one will experience some trauma and stress due to the transition, but it will all pass relatively quickly while he is in his early childhood.
The main cause of distress for a young child is only a change in the daily routine and environment of the home and friends.
Therefore, parents should be attentive to the following symptoms and deal with them wisely:
Frequent outbursts of anger, which often start for no apparent reason, and attempts to attract attention.
Young children may not be able to control themselves and wet the bed even though they are used to using the potty.
When looking for safety and stability, children will become more clingy and attached to their parents, and may start sucking their thumbs and wetting their bed, and their behavior will deteriorate relatively well.
Of course, the older the children, the more severe the transmission and its consequences for them.
Between the ages of 5 and 12, children develop their social skills and personalities, and begin to create circles of friends and strong human bonds.
According to the Very Well Mind website, which deals with family mental health, moving to an unknown city where there are no friends is a severe challenge for the child, which may provoke negative consequences, such as insomnia, night terrors, eating disorders, shyness and introversion, Loss of interest in his hobbies.
In the new school, he may appear aggressive behavior or lose focus and suffer from learning disorders suddenly, as a result of psychological pressure.
Experts suggest that the transmission process may have almost no negative impact on children under the age of five (pixels).
Practical steps to reduce the severity of the transition on the child
Frequent outbursts of anger, which often start for no apparent reason.
If there are any school events, birthday parties they would like to attend, or sports tournaments for your early teens to teens, consider organizing the transfer according to their needs;
So that they do not feel useless, frustrated and disappointed.
Visit the new place
If possible, take your kids to see your new home or the new city you are going to move to, and have a fun day there.
Visit the nearest park, mall or coffee shop in the area to show them that moving will be an enjoyable experience.
Participate in the transition
Buy colorful boxes, stickers, and bags to get them excited and get them involved in packing themselves, so they feel they are in charge of the process rather than being overpowered.
Frequently moving around and changing the environment may cause increased outbursts of anger and fear for no apparent reason (pixels).
love first
No matter your child's age, children need to know that they are loved and have their parents' support in the midst of awkward stages like moving and traveling.
To enhance the feeling of familiarity and love, you should avoid nervousness on the child and take into account spending intimate and direct time without distractions with each other.
According to the American Psychological Association, it is important to be understanding and patient and give them enough time to adjust and get out of a state of confusion and shock, so do not force them to go to school immediately or do all that is expected of them.
In general, the psychological aspect of the child must be taken into account when taking an important step such as a transition, because the stresses that your child is experiencing are much deeper than some parents expect, and will have a direct impact on their psychological and mental health in the long run.