This brochure focuses on how you can help your baby or toddler feel secure during homecoming by having realistic expectations as family members reconnect and you begin to discover your “new” normal.
For your child, homecoming means big changes. There is someone “new” at home to get to know. The adult she depended on all these months is likely to be preoccupied. Familiar routines are probably changing. She may need your reassurance at a time when you are feeling in need of a hug yourself.
Supporting your child during homecoming begins with you—your attitudes and expectations. Understanding that reconnecting takes time and accepting that homecoming can be a sometimes joyous, sometimes “bumpy” ride, can allow you to relax a little, even as you experience the ups and downs of being all together again. It can help you feel more confident that over time everything will be OK. Your child senses this as you hold, talk with, and play with her. It comforts her. It comforts you.
