How to Transition Children of Military Personnel in Schools

by Jean Gochenour

Overview

Military families are often faced with the burden of frequent relocations. This is stressful enough for the lives of the parents, but add to that the stresses of raising children in an ever-changing environment, and there is certain to be some concern about how the children will fare. Providing children with family routines, exploring the new neighborhood as a family, and learning skills children can contribute to a new environment will guarantee smooth transitions into new schools and communities.

Step 1

Provide children with familiar family routines that will give them a feeling of consistency, no matter how many times they have started school in a new place. Family routines such as dinner every night, a Friday movie night, or even certain unpacking traditions reinforce the idea of the family as a single unit that is never threatened.
Step 2

Explore the new neighborhood and school as a family to give children positive associations with each place. Begin to build a map of the new location that they can explore on their own at a later time. If possible, explore the new area on foot, so children can fully take in their surroundings and ask questions about what they see.
Step 3

Encourage, but don't require, students to interact in activities outside of school as much as possible. Helping your children develop a skill--such as a sports, debate club or chess, just to name a few--will allow them to enter into a new situation with something to offer, and therefore feel more comfortable interacting with unfamiliar students.

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In extreme situations, family counseling as well as individual counseling can give children important skills for communicating and dealing with their feelings.
In extreme situations, family counseling as well as individual counseling can give children important skills for communicating and dealing with their feelings.