2 Ways to Help Your Child Transition

We here in Minnesota are experiencing a change in season! It is Fall! It is really a beautiful time of year - the air is crisp, the leaves are changing colors and it is almost fun pulling out your jeans and sweatshirts again!

Transitions like the seasons add excitement and anticipation to many of our lives; however, for our adopted and foster children it can be a totally different experience! 

This kind of big transition, for our children, is a REALLY huge challenge. 

If your child is running into some hurdles right now, just hang in there and help him through; transitions are VERY difficult! Our children are not wired to manage transition well. They can rarely identify the transition as part of their struggle. 

Here are a couple of things you can do to help your child manage big transitions:

1. Verbally, paint the picture of how things are going to be when you are on the other side of the transition. Use a lot of sensory information, remind about doing this already, talk about how you handled it before.

2. Keep as much of the rest of his life the same.  Keep as many of those basics of life (clothing, food, emotional attention from you) consistent.

Just remember that even if a child has been through the transition before, they are not exempt from the anxiety the unknown will cause again and again.