Moving to Italy, daughter unhappy

[Bluefin]

We are moving to Italy for a year. Our 7 year old daughter is taking some getting used to the idea. I suggested that she might like to speak to other children who have had to do the same, but I'm not sure how she can make contact with these children! Any suggestions?

Is your family moving for work/a job? If so, are there other families with dc who work for the same firm that might be available to speak to her and/or you?

Or - where will your dd attend school? Might there be other students already there with a similar experience?

We moved to a new country over summer break and I had the school recommend several families who we could meet prior to the start of school. It helped dd to see a few slightly familiar faces on the first day, rather than walking in to a group of complete unknowns.

We also visited the school/met her teacher prior to the first day, which I think helped also.

Good luck.

Thanks Earlybird. She does have a new pupils start day, which I'm sure will do her the world of good. It's just to help her over the next week or so until we leave. Now that departure date is imminent, all of her upset has resurfaced!

My DD has already been to two school in two countries and is about to start a third. In our case, we've found it eases the transition if you are able to contact a couple of the students in the class so she can meet them before she starts school. Maybe this question would be better in the living overseas area of the forum?

Thanks... I will go and look for the living overseas forum!

Yep, I'm sure if you post there you will find a friendly MNer in Italy who maybe arrange a Skype or web chat for your dd to talk to some other dc about living in Italy. It must be very daunting for her even though ultimately a fab experience.