Each year, young people head off to university, leaving behind their families. For the family that remains, it may feel like the newly empty home is quite sad. Each September brings with it the start of a new university year, the end of summer and, eventually, empty nest syndrome. Throughout this article, we will go over what empty nest syndrome is, and what the experts say.
As excited students travel to university towns to begin their new life away from home, parents all over the country feel quite differently about these major life changes. According to search data, online searches for ‘empty nest syndrome’ go through the roof in September. Furniture Village, one of the UK’s largest furniture retailers, looked further into what is going on in the home once the kids are no longer there.
Let’s take a look at what parents can do to deal with an empty home after the children have moved out, whether that’s for university reasons or if they have just moved out in general.
Rearrange The Room
The first thing you will notice after your children have moved out is that your house feels a lot emptier. This doesn’t have to be a sad time; instead, you could use this as an opportunity. With their old rooms, you could transform it, either temporarily or permanently.
Having all that empty, extra space that was once filled with laughter, mess, and perhaps even mood swings, can make the absence feel even stronger. So, it might be best to repurpose the extra space into something that will be used.
There will be a few options available to you, depending on what you’re looking for, and we will list some examples below.
Guest bedroom
Repurposing your children’s bedroom into a guest bedroom can ease the loneliness after they move out, by making it easier to host guests. This way, there’s still plenty of space for your children to come home and visit too. You don’t necessarily have to remove everything from their bedroom, but you can enhance it. You can find useful pieces of furniture that could be fit for purpose for your new guest bedroom from Furniture Village. This can help you transform the room while still keeping the charm that came before your child moved out.
Home Office
Perhaps you’ve wanted to create a home office for some time, with hybrid working becoming the norm. Now is the perfect time to make your children’s old bedrooms into your dream working space. Even if you don’t work at home, you could do a lot with this room. For example, you could turn this home office space into a gaming room, and have somewhere for you to disconnect and truly enjoy your own company.
Gym
When parents have an empty room, a popular option is to turn it into a home gym. This doesn’t mean you need to transform it into a professional gym completely, you just need to utilise the empty space with some equipment. Some examples include a treadmill, but you could also just use the space for a yoga mat and some free weights.
Surround Yourself With Support
As touched upon in the introduction, empty nest syndrome can occur once children move out of home and leave for university. It’s important that you understand the impact of empty nest syndrome, including what it is and what to look out for.
The empty nest syndrome is the name given to the feeling of sadness and loss many parents experience when their children move out. Whether they leave home to go to university, get married or for a new job, empty nesters can find it difficult to adjust to their new life without kids around.
After almost 20 years of life spent together in the same home, it’s common for mothers to feel a sense of lost purpose now that the kids are out of the house. This is why the syndrome often affects women more. As their identity becomes tied to motherhood, the moment children fly the nest marks a sudden change in their role and responsibilities.
Although the empty nest syndrome is quite common, it’s often not recognised, and the symptoms can remain unaddressed for years. After all, kids becoming grown-ups and starting their own lives is a normal part of life. Unfortunately, because of this, the signs can be easily dismissed.
Empty nest syndrome can sneak up on you, which is why you should look out for specific signs. When you are aware of these signs, you will be better placed to prepare for them and deal with them appropriately. Let’s look at some of these signs, including what expert Dr Ranj has to say.
Anxiety: Fear about the future is normal when such significant changes happen in our lives. But look out for feelings of anxiety that are constant and won’t go away.
Depression: Deep sadness is one of the most common feelings parents get when they see their kids flying the coop. “Parents shouldn’t hesitate to ask for help from mental health professionals. Feeling sad for a couple of weeks can be completely normal when kids leave home. But a prolonged feeling of grief or inability to cope with usual activities, should be further investigated,” said Dr Ranj.
Loneliness: As parents readjust to the new life, it’s normal for them to miss the house being full, the busy mornings or the family dinners with everyone gathered around the table. A feeling of loneliness will usually set in for a few days or even weeks.
Loss of purpose: Now that the children are old enough to look after themselves, the role of being a parent will change. This can lead to a sense of emptiness as the full-time job of parenting becomes a thing of the past.
Inability to rest and sleep: Lack of sleep shouldn’t be ignored. According to Dr Ranj, “Sleep deprivation is more than the occasional sleepless night – and it can have significant health implications.”
Conclusion
Hopefully, by now, you have more of an understanding of empty nest syndrome and what to do with an empty home. As a parent, you should now understand your options and what you need to do to get help. Ensure you are seeking the help of those around you and consulting relevant help from sleep experts such as Dr Ranj and Furniture Village to help you relax and get the good night’s sleep that you deserve.
