Ways to Help Your Child Cope when a Friend Moves Away. Tips From A Child Therapist in Long Beach.
Moving is stressful for a child, but it’s also hard on the close friends that are left behind. Here are a few ways to help ease the trauma of loss when one of your child’s closest friends moves away.
Listen and validate
Listening and validating your child’s feelings is probably the best way to help your child through any difficult situation. Perhaps you as a parent have been through the same thing. You know that new friends will be made, and that your child will be able to keep in touch, but your child may have trouble seeing beyond the loss of a friend. Allowing your child to work through the sadness without minimizing the feeling will allow them to work through it.
Keep in touch
Exchange contact information with the friend’s family and encourage your child to keep in touch. Phone calls, Skype, letters, emails, and visits (if possible) can all help your child stay connected with their friend.
Research
Find out where your child’s friend is moving to and help them research the area. Even middle school aged children can have trouble wrapping their minds around the idea that their friend is moving away. Learning a bit about where the friend is moving to can make the move more real for your child and may help your child feel more connected.
Going away party
Help your child plan a going away party for their friend, a sleepover, or a special day for just the two of them. Letting them plan a special event offers a sense of control over a situation that is otherwise totally out of their control.
Take pictures
Take plenty of pictures of the kids together, or encourage them to take plenty of pictures. Get a pair of photo albums or scrapbooks for the pictures and let them work together to put them together. Or take videos of the two doing some of their favorite things. This will give your child something to hold onto and makes a great gift.
Encourage your child to stay active
Your child may not want to think of making new friends, and that’s okay. For a child, the idea of making new friends after losing an old one can feel like a betrayal. Encourage your child to get involved in new activities where they can spend time around other kids their age, but don’t force them to make friends. Give them plenty of opportunities and they’ll develop new friendships when they’re ready.