%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 18 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 20 0 R /GS4 21 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250916070624+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250916070624+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1342 >> stream xmWM6W1\}[1Il bDY%! eXj%3޼7nۭH5Q\ џ/^nsF +=pPݳ,i2h$ZV˱Uis&=P4EbLxZe^#Hu ,Mmx/9Y̧5Sl D F!.黂l&0f'RO X"(M !>!Dݝ2p\s?c3!5}CX]X,(5^;'|9\$K.9ksZ59L,iuxa*2\e IiY]_ke'xֈt8ٷuţAo-rf{vTb@BB ek#٪U'?"[9~$,*hhkȲX9':-vHu4UMUgiBTЊnA:șRceW4Q ?^>P%Ĝ('z#O?zĩ֬0j䙛!56){OŶ:YuhakVwXx C*Q!1A9rKj$zvno K ?/gE( 8e~aJ3:?BӠ z;$;UGģ\ekoF^8bY|nsU߭~5.,CbIP\倈(p9p1PJ{׏Y?9-F1{+Ze'y^t,EYG!N} 0B_vEAD"wtG;@*%kgD~X<_Ms'x6| endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /Filter /DCTDecode /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5614>> stream JFIFC    !'"#%%%),($+!$%$C   $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$}}"  }K;NgeˏyYIG&t|LKX+v5Xte66A\g\ mK-z)n~uJ|Gz)v&sNC%̠!lU$M( kIcEo/ J3G-QA(ӈKqzgGwW'0e8y<ƉNN9E|(f)Cӡz0|,A :InNɣٕzߵgxWAVkp4B n]G e>x%3VןPRk iac.3'%!"#2A .G;Inթ{q$.UI䣻H\.&C3A'=kfJlՄvX^} څ>3Whxa=6S'G6zh0w|޲w'[fYi $ܨ젪K3> =pR㋴Շi;CFxUBeu$XGv A^U0gld$}ptML43o/\'O[,(g0c㇥ s3lHMEJѕ1K7~dO|#&ek 1v&0Ln-zְdm+M(9eLzNvKZ?WL,,ϼfN8Cӵ8-5>zq'#͉Rut+U`]U.c<ڸCĮu!!1Q"AR?jq٥~ GUHƝ6=Wc#)cM~5N$_rʵ:u$D,l^*xaa+}7'*?"!1Q 0Aa?iibCV~DK ͗=r!>&Y-"T&2%{^+(LO?=.rA/!1AQ"2 aq#BRb?4mZ5×av`hb{\RķPiT7*_+ 2lV n3^Ay)}nM{Mt .i 3eYC ݪsXG:m1uG B)X8`$I ÇaYd;'UòAHwU;,W*&"}8_ 6 U:cfnkaM#w;bg)p:qKuScAq,P4t4hZaٔǸ\G%QpMsuix"\;ۘoAUb̪lFn"̀kɲ;L,ܡ4..@T#El"$dCsBPxL֞kl˩p,\P] ]H J=3M?qL*e2;K^PlukeHh`$o?+]}L3 Ƌ 嚰@Sw AQZMǧ {AmmF˶^%DAhrs k`#66>jtA_Lz.М݊aDĮ6 NSꍽZ9ͪVqlFh.a ־Pz}WFl78 ft?*n^电w4 ImIJlv[]P|°=? iފNB9E[zF:kaid-ٍQ{Z˝j6#];=ACFXJ8P97BËw<]Xr`JxОDIăٚy71&!1AQaq?!HU0+0Hdl8 _ 5EY22[Uadd^Z. kjw)nV|)]K `L-{&"i=2@I$vz,OZBVcVݗXEDb!ToT v\od(9+p`1Y|x&2#ܾ䕏djQuBGÚ3Qg+vCJ!K_]7h2r DѺ3Y#a]o Ũ (+)F: IV%HԼ7X pQmZnH&283Hd,S>6ij?ڴ< MQQH@aAy¦+`-c #!1AQaq?؝ ͵chNG)oT&Ći4r?oϕ!%ŌUY~^>I6 0SK=Ԃ2Ka:7 n~hf7*PK`dhC6-P م!1AQa?~&HwTn@d>駹|Jtctҟ $ԧBe4Rt9HmgŞxR"a`n}EpK5,[<9N2:툸luY+FR<~>@xP5#FYnIuA30KHĬ[0%[d%ܤ3)1H2zɓK׵#|8"i6f*8bu[TXDF*{23f6\t^ܑ݂fbHZ;)#":JN4rP#Ƈ JŖtS'H񓙦]'+ )$)GՄYUd/=b|KS-<̠qu"01".t+A(8AS%Ba0Qhx _r?UP磢hKj y,Z &QA`Suhgq!ϼbxX%Q<,t(r:aRIH!O $ĸeTLq+ٕyyAd!Ó)ګ AB,QJ} UfV z00SOؠ{!HDhpOL<ү!)__ ^4o*@XڐY—͚RPF$(DƯCTSgc,tW!WƂFIBAG~&s2gt#I=xl(3)pUo\GL%Gad*.-a.Q"8aN*ݹMr}BDB/h Tr0F ) #ycFCz5Ɋd|)@qC"t7q4$"I!=˲%fMkn03@ܙe\"!hȁwK!h+XNɐLZvFǒ1*$$0ǒ5 ifDh a 'JWg]LJȍERdŲuNLnoبq)I+sCr:2NE C▽dz"M=,uo7hIzX~rl2 )';#aLD wD #m> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 17 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 19 0 R >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1151 >> stream x}Vn6}Wc ݾ5ESACJJ%R!%oϨ=Ck'` +"g̜9ë+< ~&"Iz뺫WGO&"tluJi&:杚i֣"uh6-jGM)C˃3^ovtRjЦ$kt_̋Sۡt+t|jw(.E@'9a G578o wFQX@$u&c(%hCUDIx 74Y+ gYƟ{4aQ@i{qOD 5XAbZBWuUbW%ǯcVQ-k6mA9|GH%3r:;j;0Р3[c\$iFJ+pHYS_X@J\^W. m MN}a/]yuU*4ƎzĸR+`]&rJG=C5}E8Z$qGVQxbqN}@HGGЊ&o.F "h֍4 [i-Dill$3Xx&ϛ0kT4vizYxh4߿H*cBUt;% bo4ȕWNN*4C7.sv;fK9^ D('И /d,3XX*H6=b|go.C-զ1xDV)RѥBAcd\ ;Ӷ mj= 1@Y*2FLA :ҁDXTe{XJC!C[:}a­rCmYٙUwxLDgGx@~пaS d@10A&S :_2!&gAHyjvhTtsxËhN5KU}j٠6X}xv Rec0' 15Qp|-Y;,جDYXd;O=7.sy|$s\Rvװ@Oa)M+:>fK]xy7Yl'v%%&zo endstream endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj xref 0 22 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000417 00000 n 0000000454 00000 n 0000000603 00000 n 0000000706 00000 n 0000002121 00000 n 0000002228 00000 n 0000002336 00000 n 0000002446 00000 n 0000002559 00000 n 0000002675 00000 n 0000002704 00000 n 0000008486 00000 n 0000008545 00000 n 0000008604 00000 n 0000008633 00000 n 0000008738 00000 n 0000009963 00000 n 0000010020 00000 n trailer << /Size 22 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<9e3d6f533d4c831ac57f5868f2c2f49f><9e3d6f533d4c831ac57f5868f2c2f49f>] >> startxref 10077 %%EOF Being fearless in times of change with your kids | Caring Magazine
Read Caring Magazine Volume 29

Vol. #29

Hope in Action

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

how to be fearless in times of change while parenting

Being fearless in times of change with your kids

byVivian Gatica Lopez
February 11, 2018
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6).

This is the verse that keeps me going in times of change.

Change can be hard for adults, but it can be even harder on kids. This is why it is important for us, as parents, to not fear change, but instead embrace it and teach our children how to overcome it.

Here are some ideas to help your children through periods of change:

Keep a routine

Having a routine in place is helpful in everyday parenting, but I’ve found it is key during times of adjustment.

My daughter, while still only a year and a half old, notices when her dad, who is in the military, is away for work and it definitely throws her off sometimes.

She’s at an age where she still doesn’t know how to fully process her emotions, so I try the best I can to keep her on schedule so that everything else in her life remains consistent. I find this keeps her from feeling overwhelmed.

In different circumstances, like moving, this may seem a bit difficult when you’re in the middle of a big transition. Just do what you can with what you can to keep the routine going, and don’t stress.

Times of transition are already hard as it is, so don’t put the weight of the world on your shoulders. Work together as a family to keep things going, and know that God is with you every step of the way.

Communicate with your children

It’s easy to get sucked into the craziness of change. Kids can sense when we are stressed, and it may make them less inclined to tell you about their own frustrations about the changes to come.

Set time aside to unwind with your children and listen to their feelings about what the future holds for your family. Let them know that it is OK to have mixed feelings while adjusting to a “new normal” and ask them what their concerns are.

Answer their questions and ask them if there is anything you can do to help.

For younger kids, like babies and toddlers, this can be a little trickier as they are still learning to communicate. But a way to overcome this is to “listen” by just observing their body language and behavior.

When my daughter is upset and missing her dad, it’s immediately apparent in her behavior.

It’s her way of telling me she needs me, so we do things that make her happy like dancing around to her favorite songs, or snuggling on the couch to watch her favorite movie, “Moana.”

Whether it’s reading a book or playing fun games, listen and do things with your kids that will lift their spirits up and show them they are not alone in these times of change.

Set aside a fun day with your family

Plan a day to do something out of the ordinary with your kids before big periods of adjustment. This can be a trip to the beach or movies or whatever your family enjoys.

This gives you time to strengthen your family bond and destress from all the physical and mental preparation of the upcoming change.

It’s also a great opportunity to create memories to cherish and look back on, and also discuss all the exciting possibilities the future will bring.

Download this page as a PDF

Comments 1

  1. This article really resonated with me. My husband is in the Army National Guard based out of Orange, CA. When he is gone, it takes us (our three children and I) a while to adjust and readjust upon his return. Now that I am working for the Salvation Army, it has really helped our family feel at peace when he is away. Thank you for this.

Comments are closed.

You May Also Like