Help with Adjusting to Moving

Hi K.!
There is a children's book called "Goodbye House" by Frank Asche (sp?). It's about a little bear leaving his house and how his daddy took him to say goodbye to each room. I have no idea if that would help but I hope it all goes well!

HI

We bought a Hearthstone and were able to drive past it during construction. We told our 4 year old that it was her house. It was our Sunday drive. Last April we picked up the keys and took a month to move in. We told her that it was her new home and she needed to help us move in. We took her paint shopping for her room. She helped us pick out paint for other rooms too. We picked up a toddler bed and putt it in her new room. We told her that she was doing so good with the move that she was getting a new bed. I think that the thing that helped the most was picking out the paint for her room. Children need to be involved in the things that happen to them. They need to have something that is theirs and that they have control over. If we had not included her in some of the decisions she would have mad it a lot more difficult than it was. It took her a month to adjust. It takes her 3 weeks to adjust to the time change.

Sorry if this sounds disjointed. We are trying to turn the office into a baby room and it is hard to get to the computer.

Okay now this has been many many years ago but I recall my darling two didn't want to leave "their" house. As they grew up there and had formed a bond to the place, we decided to move as we outgrew the place. Anyhow what I did was have the children have a going away party for the house, nothing huge just a small little picnic once the house was empty and we talked about the good times and the new house and all of the good times that wewill have there. It worked, I also allowed the children to pack up some of there own things in a small box so that they would feel that they were helping in the transition to the new place.
Good luck in your move and I do hope this helps.

We moved over a week and my 10 month old was really out of sorts. We just tried to give her lots of attention (which is hard) and give her chores. Maybe as soon as you put up some familiars they will adjust. We got our daughters room put together RIGHT AWAY and she had no problems sleeping. Good luck!

There are great books at the library about moving. They can help little ones to see what's happening, and can help them to digest the experience, even after your move. Also, if you can let them help--even if it's only one box--they can put some of their toys in a box at the old place and open it up at your new home. Another thing is, busy as you are, if you can do a little bit with them that is familiar, that is part of their routine, when you focus just on them and relax about everything else, it will help them to stay flexible when you need to be doing other things.
We moved when my little one was 2, also. (Now she's 32!)

I have heard that setting their room(s) up first and in as close to the exact same way it was set up in the other house as possible will help. I've also heard that keeping to as much the same daily routine as you can will also help. I guess my other suggestion would be to designate ach child a small bag or suitcase and fill it with several items they "need" all the time; blankie, teddy, a favorite book, whatever. Take these special items back and forth between placeseach time, until your move is complete. Include one fun activity in the pack; coloring book or I Spy book, whatever. Best of luck to you. I have a close friend who just moved with two tots. She said the hardest thing was keeping naptimes.

Keep their favorite toys with them, and make sure you take a few minutes every few hours with them or better yet get them helping on a job. ie Get a papertowel wet and ask them to wash the walls, or windows. Or wipe out cabinets... things that will keep them busy and won't hurt anything. Kids like feeling useful in these types of situations.
Also turn on a cd with kids cd's and get silly. Moving doesn't have to be somber, it can be as fun as you a person makes it.
I moved alot both as a child and now that I have my child. I have learned moving is very stressful but if you try to make it light hearted it can be. Don't take things personal, your kids can feel your stress, just let things roll off you and breathe. Stay on task and get the next thing done, one box packed at a time, and make sure the kids are ok. It sounds like you are taking your time so have the kids pack too, with supervision. If you are happy they will be happy, kids feel our pain and worry.

K.-
We have moved several times...the first when the kids were 2 & almost 4. The transition time was the hardest (probably because the kids were reading how stressed I was!). Once we got to the house, we took the kids first thing to their rooms. We put things into them that were ONLY theirs...toys, a picture to hang on the wall, a special animal, etc. Then, when the beds arrived, we set those up first, so they knew where their rooms were. Then, as the boxes and things started coming into the new place, we'd go through them as needed.
Even though moving entails tons of details, the things the kids cared most about were 1) where is my room and 2) will we all be together still. We decided that "home is where you hang your stuff" and even when we moved overseas, the kids were ok because they knew their stuff was coming and we would be together.
Moving is hard and is a ton of work. Good luck to you to keep the family "sane" in this process!

From the time my children were 0-10-years-old (the eldest) we moved every 6 months or went on extended "vacations" every 6-months. The most important thing for us was keeping our basic rhythm. We would have the same breakfast in the morning and use our special candles that we brought with us - we would say the same verses, we would each have little backpacks of our favorite things that went everywhere with us, we would keep little photo albums with us of old and new places and we would always have storytime before bed. And of course favorite stuffed animals help! Just whatever you can keep regular and the same helps - it ties the places together.

Blessings & Health,
K.
www.HerbnHome.com
Mama to 3 - 10, 12, and 14