They grow up so quickly, that’s what we’re always told, people consider that they were babies one minute and grown-up the next. Which whether this is true or not certainly seems relevant when the time comes for them to permanently leave home. This simple guide will give you some handy hints and tips on how to navigate some of the challenging and tricky aspects of this process.
Help Them With The Transition
This is going to be an emotional time for you, but even more so for your child as you’ve been through this process before, albeit from the other side. But you also have experience of moving homes, most likely more than once. Be understanding and be sure to have some quality family time during the last few weeks and days of living together as this can be tough, especially if they are moving far away.
What To Do With Their Room
This is always a tricky one and often we don’t want to deal with this immediately if nothing else it would seem disrespectful to your child. You may also want to have it there as a failsafe for some time, as it’s not unheard of for children to move out and then return home after a while, whether it’s for emotional reasons or financial hardship. If you do decide to alter their room then there are various options, you could start a part-time business with a home office or turn it into a hobby room or home gym?
Help Them Set Up Their New Home
There’s no doubt you are going to want to help them set up their new home and it can be quite the tough decision on what to get them as you don’t know what they’ll want to buy themselves and what others have already bought them. It’s also very difficult for them to know everything needed to completely kit out a new home as the list is so exhaustive, Home Blog does a great check-list for a first new home.
Dealing With The New Home Set-Up
For you as well as them it’s going to be quite the change, in volume if nothing else. OK, the noise level hopefully isn’t as bad as when they were toddlers or younger teenagers, but when you are used to having people in the house and coming and going it can be a change and a little eerie to have to deal with such a quiet place all of a sudden. This is especially true if you enjoyed having the kid’s friends over, as you will be missing them too, something that often isn’t thought about until it happens.
Keep Areas Of The House For Them
Contact is key, especially if you are missing them. But how much contact is enough? You want them to have their own space but also don’t want them to think you are ignoring them either. It can be very fruitful to have this discussion with them before they leave, this gives them input on what you’re thinking and lets them know you are considering their feelings. You should consider how your home should be set up to let them know they are still welcome, with areas for their kids too, if they are at that stage.