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Whether your children will be living with you full-time or on a periodic basis, it is necessary to create an environment in which they feel comfortable and can call their home. Though the new normal will take some time to get used to, it’s the little things that can make getting through it a lot easier. Here are some ways you can make your new place feel more like home for your kids.
Find an Accommodating Yet Affordable Place
Now that you’re living on one income, you’ll need to find suitable housing for you and your children that fits into your budget. Though this may mean downsizing, you still want to find a space that accommodates everyone’s needs. To make the transition as easy as possible – especially if they’ll be living with you full-time, you should seek to find a place near their current school, family, and friends. Too much change can prove emotionally challenging for some children to cope with. Also, find a spot where everyone has space to sleep and play.
Choose the Right Furniture
Nothing makes a house feel like home like great furniture. As you’re trying to make your space your own, try opting for pieces of furniture that are kid-friendly. Though you may opt for more sturdy and stylish furniture for your living room area, you might be more open by choosing vibrant colors and materials for the children’s bedroom. You can browse the internet for ideal living room and bedroom furniture for children. The great thing is even if you find the perfect piece at a North Carolina furniture store you can have it shipped to your new place.
Hang Photographs
Pictures can go a long way in helping the kids to feel at home in your new place. Hanging photos of memories with the children will improve their spirits. It can help them to reflect on happier times. It also lets them know that you treasure those memories as well.
Add Things That are Familiar
Though you and your children understand that home is no longer what it used to be, it can help the transition if you’re able to add things to the home that remind them of their old place. Whether it’s a special blanket that they liked having on the bed, a painting or picture that they especially loved looking at, or even items that resemble them, it can make the new place feel much more like home.
Create Routines and Traditions
Whether your children will be living with you most of the time or splitting their time with the other parent it is necessary to create routines and traditions in your home. Routines help children and adults to get used to a new normal. While schedules and routines should remain as close to the same as possible, traditions can be created in the new home to make the adjustment more fun. Whether you have a weekly tradition of family movie night or you take the kids out for ice cream every Friday, these are traditions and habits they’ll come to enjoy with you.
Give it Time
As you already know, the drastic changes that occur with divorce or a breakup can be emotionally draining. Your children, who are not old enough to comprehend adult problems, often have a hard time dealing with this change. While you’re taking steps towards adjusting to single parenthood, it is imperative that you give your children time to adapt. With patience and the continued outpour of love, your kids will come to accept the changes.
There is a lot to juggle as a newly single dad, but it can be done. One of the first steps to moving on and helping your children to move past the hurt of a breakup is to find a new place and have a clean slate. By finding the perfect environment to raise your children and finding a way to make it your own, you can help them to adapt to the changes easier. Once you’ve moved in, added personal touches, and created your own routines, you’ll come to find that these steps help you to move forward as well.
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