Skip to content

How to parent smarter not harder.

View all articles

Thinking Parenting Blog

Helping children cope with change

Change can be very stressful, even when it’s positive. Children thrive on predictability and routine, so helping children cope with change can be a real challenge. Even positive emotions helping children cope with change(like excitement) can be overwhelming in large doses for children – just think how frequently the birthday girl or boy ends up in tears before, during or after the party!

Some changes (such as starting a new school, moving house or introducing a new baby or a new partner) we can see coming. Others come out of the blue. Helping children cope with change in a positive way can help set them up for greater resilience and adaptability in the future. We’d love to wrap our children up in cotton wool and protect them from life’s knocks, but we can’t. And we wouldn’t be doing them any favours if we could.

Helping children cope with change by teaching them coping skills equips them to deal with life and manage its ups, downs, and sudden jolts. Here’s a few ideas on how to do it.

Get them involved

Children cope best with change when they are prepared for it in advance. Try explaining why the change is necessary and big up the advantages. If you can, do a dress-rehearsal or find a way to familiarise your child with the change that is coming. Get them involved in making decisions (such as how their bedroom will be decorated in a new house). Use books, films and family life to point out how other children have also adapted to similar changes (see Books for helping children cope with change). Look at old photos and discuss how life changes for children as they get older and though we might feel scared or sad to start with, we quickly adapt and start to enjoy new circumstances.

Maintain routines

When something big happens in our lives we can often feel like our whole world has fallen apart. Try to maintain your child’s routines as much as possible so that they feel less threatened by the change. Only change what needs to be changed, or try to stagger changes so that they don’t all happen at once. A predictable routine helps children feel secure so helping children cope with change requires an equal emphasis on what is not changing.

Acknowledge their feelings

If your child is upset, don’t ignore it. Stop what you are doing and pay attention. Encourage them to tell you how they are feeling. If they can’t, help them find the words by saying what you see: “You look upset.” Let them know it is ok to feel that way when big changes happen. Ask what they are going to do to make themselves feel better. If they don’t have any ideas, then prompt them: “Would it make you feel better to go and lie down and read a book?” Make sure you stay calm yourself and don’t get emotional. (Check out these books to help children with anxiety and books for helping small children cope with big feelings)

Teach coping skills

Coping skills help children cope with change by teaching them strategies for calming their emotions. Typical coping strategies include slow deep breaths (for relaxation), distraction (thinking about something else), problem-solving (finding a way to make the situation better) and positive self-talk (telling yourself it will all be ok). Work with your child when they are not upset to identify coping strategies that might work for them, then prompt them to try those strategies if they are upset or anxious. Be creative – what works for you might not work for your child. My son’s coping strategy was to go and jump on the trampoline when he was feeling emotional!

If the change involves divorce or separation, then take a look at my specific advice on Helping children through divorce and separation, or if negative thinking is the issue then you might find Teaching Optimism useful. If you are worried about your child’s emotional wellbeing, visit the Young Minds website for expert advice and guidance.

Share this article:

The Work/Parent Switch.

By Anita Cleare

Not sure where to start?

Practical tips on how to be the parent your child needs and create happy family dynamics (but still do your job!)

6 responses to “Helping children cope with change”

  1. gianna says:

    Some really good tips! Great post 🙂 #thelist

  2. teacuptoria says:

    Great advice Anita! I don’t cope well with change at all and haven’t ever since I was a child. I think it’s so important for parents to be aware of this and to make children feel safe when changes are occurring. x

    • AnitaCleare says:

      I’m a bit of a change junky myself – can’t bear things to stay the same too long. One of my children is like me (he moves the furniture round in his bedroom once a week!) but the other is the opposite. I’ve had to learn to see things from his point of view and to realise that things that make me excited make him nervous!

  3. Talya says:

    Great post Anita! We have just come out of the other side of a house move which has ensued in some very odd behaviour from our toddler as she has had to cope with the change. I have tried to alleviate much of this by using most of the above strategies! #TheList

    • AnitaCleare says:

      Glad to hear they worked! It’s hard to explain change to toddlers in a way they can understand, but helping them feel safe and secure in the rest of their life goes a long way.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Photo of woman with hands at her head looking exasperated to illustrate article on when children's emotions trigger parents' emotions

When children’s emotions trigger parents’ emotions

“Becoming a parent brings with it a host of overwhelming feelings, both harrowing and beautiful: the surge of pure love when you watch your child sleeping; the tears of joy when they stand on...

Photo of a young girl in a green coat with her arms outstretched trying to catch a bubble in a park to illustrate how play helps children's mental health

How play helps children’s mental health

Play helps children’s mental health in a huge variety of ways. Yet, it is seldom the first thing we think about when it comes to supporting children’s mental or emotional wellbeing. This...

Photo of book cover of How Are You Feeling Now by Molly Potter

How Are You Feeling Now? Interview with children’s author Molly Potter

Molly Potter is a best-selling children’s author whose books help parents and children talk about feelings and other tricky topics. I’m a huge fan of her books, so I was delighted to have...

Photo of Dalya Wittenberg work-life balance blogger and podcast host

In pursuit of work-life balance

Finding work-life balance can be incredibly challenging as a working parent. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Balance looks different for different people, and our sense of balance often...