Moving is never an easy thing to do. Children's fears about moving can sometimes be overlook with all of the chaos of closing, packing and planning. Talk to your children and take a minute to evaluate how your children are doing. Below are some tips that might help them with the moving process.
- Show them pictures of the new home & of their room or take them to see the home if possible.
- Assure them theat they can stay in contact with their old friends.
- Make a scrapbook of the old neighborhood, home, yard, schools, friends, teachers, etc.
- Throw a good-bye party. Have friends sign t-shirts or poster boards.
- Make a fun video of the former home & neighborhood.
- Have the children write good-bye letters with new return address.
- Allow your children to decorate their packed boxes. Will make them easy to see being unloaded too!
- Start a scrapbook for the new home.
- Visit new schools, parks, churches, playing fields, etc.
- Help your children meet the new kids in the neighborhood via play dates or other activities.
- Give them a tour of the new town or city.
- Allow them to plan their new room; paint colors, decorations, etc.
- Have a treasure hunt in the new home to orient them to the house.
- Help them unpack & get their rooms organized quickly.
- Be understanding if they are tired, grumpy or sad. Moving is hard on them too!
- Try and keep tempers in check even when exhausted from the move yourself.
- Keep favorite foods and snacks on hand during the move.
- Pack a DVD player with some of their favorite movies to keep them occupied.
- Plan a camp out for the first night in the new house! Make it fun!
These are just a few things that you can do to help make the move for a child less stressful! Including them in as much as you can is also really important. They need to know what to expect early on.
Happy moving!
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