NANAKULI — Domestic living can take some getting used to. Just ask Rose Kaneakua.

When she and her family of 13 moved into their new seven-bedroom Nanakuli home in December after 10 years of living on Mokule'ia Beach, everybody was all smiles, and the kids were literally jumping for joy.

But soon, something unexpected happened, she said.

Her little ones began begging to move back to the sand.

"From the time we moved in they didn't want this to be our home," said Kaneakua, from the shady lanai that looks out on her own small yard. "Because, at the beach, they were so free. They had this big place to run. And the beach and the ocean was right there, and everything was so enjoyable for the kids. It was like the camping trip that never ended."

Tulutulu "Tulu" Toa, homeless specialist for Wai'anae Community Outreach, said she's not surprised by the children's reaction. Homeless service providers say that the longer people live on the beach, the more accustomed they become to it. Considering that the children had never lived in a house and the wide open space was all they'd known, it's understandable the younger ones might have difficulty with being boxed in, she said.

According to the latest available state counts, nearly 8,000 people were estimated to be homeless on O'ahu in 2007, about one-third of them children.

Among the problems commonly faced by homeless kids are the availability of healthcare and proper nutrition, the transient nature of beach living and the stigma of being homeless, experts say.

Therefore, having a home of their own at 89-201 Nanaikala St. was seen as a blessing for Kaneakua and her husband, Kaulana, and their six children, along with Rose's sister Mahealani Keawemauhili and her four children. For a decade the three adults, along with the 10 children, ages 1 through 11, had all lived at Mokule'ia Beach along with Rose's parents.

When the family was faced with losing homestead land in Nanakuli that Kanekua's grandmother had acquired in 1987, they applied to Habitat for Humanity Leeward O'ahu, which builds homes for people in need. The Kanekuas and Keawemauhilis qualified because they were employed and were willing to put in the "sweat equity" necessary to help build the home.

Kaneakua said she figured there would be an adjustment period. But she thought the younger children would be the ones who would adapt the fastest.

"It was just the opposite," she said. "My two little ones — my baby, he's 2, and the other is 4 — they literally cried to 'go home.' And my 5-year-old, she liked the house, and she wanted to be here, but then she didn't."

While the older kids were able to adapt fairly quickly to modern conveniences, Kaneakua said home life seemed to be nearly traumatic for the little ones — almost as if they were imprisoned.

"It scared them," she said.

Kaneakua said she and her husband tried to explain to them that this was their home now, and that the family could always go back to the beach to visit. For weeks the couple frequently did take the children back to the beach.. Inevitably, returning to the house posed another tear-filled moment.

For kids who have never lived in a house, home life is like starting from scratch, said Toa, the Wai'anae Community Outreach homeless specialist.

"It means you have to teach them from the beginning," she said. "You have to show them how to take of take care of the place. You have to teach them how to do things inside."

According to Kaneakua, that's just what happened. About three weeks ago she said the anxiety subsided and her young ones now seem content. Although they still enjoy visiting their grandparents, who prefer to remain on Mokule'ia Beach, they no long cry to go there.

And while her husband, Kaulana, admits to missing some of the freedoms beach living provides, Rose doesn't see it that way.

"Not me. I was happy to get off the beach and have running water, a roof over my head, and a washing machine," she said with a sigh. "I do not miss dragging our laundry to the laundromat."