Watching your children grow up is a beautiful experience. Seeing them transform into full-grown adults is like magic. But these experiences are always tinged with a little sadness. One of the reasons for this is that you know, one day, they are going to move out of the family home and lead their own lives.
Having your children move out is a difficult experience for everyone. Empty-nest syndrome is a very real and overwhelming feeling. It can be easy to get bogged down in your sadness, but one way to cope with this feeling is to reframe your perspective on the situation.
Of course, it is sad when your children move out. But, as with every situation, you can always find at least one positive. One positive of your children moving out is that, now, you have more space in your house.
Your children don’t need their bedrooms anymore; the house is emptier than it once was: these are all signs that you can make some changes to your home to suit its new, different needs.
Here is outlined some ideas for changes you could make to your house, but, as each home and each situation is different, consider these springboards that you can use to come up with ideas for your house.
Transform your kids’ rooms.
Depending on how many children have left home, you’ll be dealing with a differing amount of space.
There are plenty of different ways you can use this new space: you could create your own home library, a games room, or even an art studio. During this period after which your kids have left home, it can be easy to fall into your sadness. Focusing on your hobbies by dedicating a room to them can give you something to do and a place to go to take your mind off of your sadness.
A fun room is a great idea for your emotional well-being, but it can also be smart to convert one of these rooms into a spare room. This way, if your kids come back to stay – perhaps for the holidays – then they have somewhere to sleep.
Keep your home warm.
Something people don’t think about but can be quite affecting is the fact that, once you don’t have lots of bodies running around the house warming it up, your home can become quite cold. The fewer people in a house, the lower the temperature.
For this reason, investing in some good heating and insulation is essential to keeping your spirits up, especially in the winter, after your kids have left home. Learn more here.
Put up photos.
As with most family homes, you probably have some photos up around the house. It might be hard for some people to see these photos after their kids have left home, but having photos will remind you of your kids in a positive light in the long run.
However, to reduce the emotional burden, it can help to put up new photos of your kids. This way, you’ll see them and be surprised rather than saddened.
Make sure you focus on your emotional well-being and make changes to your house that help you, not overwhelm you.