someone else is sad...Coming home tonight from dinner with the Troseths, Annie Kate started crying. She said, "i am so sad to move" I have been so busy worrying about me, i forgot to think about her. She has so many great friends and tonight and today was just a reminder of that.
Annie kate got to vacation bible school with her neighbor and play at Sarah Jane's house.
Any great advice on helping a child deal with leaving friends is welcomed by one and all.
5 comments:
I gave Brynn a camera and let her take a picture of each of her friends. Than I took her out to get some paper, and let her put together a book about the friends, and her favorite things to do. Unfortunately, I lost the pages in our move. We talk a lot about our friends we have left behind, but the new friends we will meet to add to our lives. I think it is so hard on kids. Mine still ask when we are moving again, or when we get to go back to our old home. I love all your pictures, what a hard time it is, bittersweet. But, their are some people waiting to meet you in Washington, that you will build more memories with. I guess every where you go the mission is to figure out why there, and who are you meant to meet. Hugs for the girls, lots of tears and hugs, oh and some chocolate
I think listening to her and acknowledging her sadness is important, rather than just smoothing it over with some comment about making new friends. It's great you're taking lots of pictures and documenting the move. I think the idea of letting her scrapbook some of the photos or have them in her new room is a good idea. I think getting her into letter writing would be helpful as well. She might still be kind of young for it, but I know it saved me when I had to move so many times.
I like Katie and Jill's ideas. I too think it's really important to validate her feelings. Making a book of memories would, I think, be a helpful process to go through, and then she could look at it again and again. I was going to suggest letter-writing, too. Maybe she could make a date for a phone call with a special friend like Jill and Betsy do!
When we moved from TX to UT I was older than Annie Kate, but my mom was great about validating my feelings. She bought me some special stationary and an address book so I could get my friends' addresses and keep in touch. It really helped until I was settled in and made some new friends. We moved in the summer too, so it made it hard until school started. Good luck!
I was thinking also about stationary...and making cute envelopes with "girls friends names." Also hallmark has great e cards...maybe she can send some often...it is a hard thing! but kids are resilient and find friends so fast
Post a Comment