Moving to a New House.

We built and moved into our home when my daughter was around 5 years old and son was 2 years. We did the same thing...let her pick out her room colors, new comforter and make choices like that. However, 8 years and $450.00 later, my husband and I FINALLY removed her BARBIE PINK colored carpet and replaced it with something much more neutral! (Yes....Daddy gave permission for the pink and I gave in, despite my protest at the time!) So....word to the wise....pick your carpet colors wisely - wall colors can change easily! Carpet is much more expensive! Happy new home to you and your family!

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All the suggestions are great. I only want to add that we moved a year ago when my daughter was 3. I was really nervous about it since she is such a "creature of habit," loved her old room and generally doesn't adjust to change well. She had absolutely no problems the first night in the new house, and ever since. I would do what the other moms said and you should be fine. Congrats!

You are totally on the right track. We bought our home when the kids were 2 and they adjusted very well. One thing you may want to do, at least temporarily, is set up her room as you currently have it and then slowly change it with her help.

I think you are on the right track. I'm pregnant so we needed to move our 2 yr old daughter out of the baby room into her big girl room. We got her involved with the process. We talked about it with her, she helped my husband paint the room and she helped pick out her blanket. When it was ready she had no problem sleeping in her new room. We tell her how beautiful the room is and we get her excited about it. We made it a very positive experience.

Hi J.,

Good luck moving to your new home. One thing I would do would be to have your daughter help in choosing things for her new room. This will make it more hers. Maybe if there is something she really wants, she can get it for her new big girl room. This will make her very excited for her new room, and maybe the transition won't be so hard.

I hope all goes well. D.

J. I tnink you are on the right track. I also moved in to a new house with a three year old just last christmas this is when I made her transition form a toddler bed into a "Big Girl" bed. I let her help pick out everything to go into her new room and when she finnaly saw it she was so proud.She could not wait to sleep in it, play in it and show it off to everyone that came over. Good luck.

We are a military family, so moving is something we have gotten quite good at. I let my kids decorate thier own rooms, right down to paint color. My son's room is bright orange right now. He love's it thought. It lets them make it thier own space. If your new house is close by it's not such a big deal, you still get to visit with all your friends. I would not make a big deal about it being a difficult change. Those tend to be a bit harder to deal with, than having a new adventure. Good luck, and congrats on your new home! J.

Hi J.~
Congratulations on having a new home to move to! You are absolutely doing it right!! :o) I'd like to suggest one other idea--read books to her about moving! I have 2 great suggestions of books that are PERFECT for a 3 year old.

The first suggestion is MOVING HOUSE. This book is written just for this age group (2-6) and is part of a "first experiences" series. Follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/6hxc56 You can even view 2 of the pages from the book so you can see just what it is like!

Another suggestion is MOUSE MOVES HOUSE. This is also written just for this age group! http://tinyurl.com/5h6qqu

Many experts suggest using books as a great way to help kids become comfortable with a new experience and to open the door to conversations that might not otherwise happen.

Let me know if you have any other questions about the books!
K.

it sounds like you are doing everything you need to do. talking to her so that she is aware is all that you need to do. we moved when my daughter was three and i remember feeling worried about the same things. we read some books about moving and i did some research on how to prepare a kid of that age for it. all in all they just need to be aware that they are leaving one house and going to another. my daughter was excited and there was not an issue with it at all. one thing i did read that i wouldn't have thought of to tell her was that all of her stuff, toys clothes, etc. will be coming with her. i guess some kids think they have to leave all of their stuff too and that is obviously traumatic. so mention that to her what seems obvious to us may not be to them. good luck!

Congratulations on your new home!!! I would have to agree with Amy Q and say to make sure her room is set up first (as in, before you guys move in)! I think that did the trick for my daughter when we moved because she didn't have to live out of boxes and her room was all decorated the day we moved in!!!

I haven't had that same experience, but it sounds like you're doing the best thing.

We moved 2 children ages 3 & 1 1/2. We had them involved in everything we did, including picking out the moving truck and helping us pack the things they were able. We bought bubble pack and had them pop the bubbles. We had them help carry their own things to the truck and they were so excited. We took tons of pictures and drove by the house and had them show us their rooms. We never had a problem when we closed on our house. Involvement is key. We even put off unloading everything and made sure their rooms were setup first and let them pick where their beds went (within reason). They never looked back. We still drive by our old house and talk about what we did there a couple times a month and it's been over a year now since we moved. They still remember! Hope this helps and good luck. Let us know how it goes.