We are going to be moving soon, when exactly I don't know. We are working with our bank to do a short sale of our condo, and someone put an offer in on Saturday. Our realtor will be turning it in to the bank today, and we'll see if it is accepted. I have no idea how long this part of the process will last, but if and when it is accepted we will need to move. It's bittersweet for all of us, we've lived here for 6 years, and it's the only home my son has known. But he's two, so I know he will not really remember living here. This weekend, I mentioned to him that we were probably going to move soon and go live by his cousins, which I thought would excite him since he loves being around other kids so much. Instead, he started crying and told me he wanted to stay here, that he wanted this house back, he wanted to keep this house. I was not prepared for that. I stopped talking about it and moved to distract him with some toys. The next day, he came to me and told me that we were going to be moving soon to a new house because this house was broken. His little mind had processed the news a little and come up with the most understandable reason why we were moving. :( I know that I can't go into a full explanation with him because he just won't understand me. But do you all have any tips on how to ease into this move, getting him more used to the idea using concepts that he will understand? It could be weeks or months until we need to leave, but I'd like to get him used to the idea so it won't be so traumatic when we finally do move. He's 2 1/2 years old. Thanks for your help!
Just talk up the new place all you can. And you need to act excited about it too, as hard as it may be. Remind him that all his toys get to go too. We moved last year and my little one was 2 and we had a brand new baby. We just went on and on about how great it was going to be. We also set up her new room EXACTLY how her old room was set up. Including painting it to match. It went great. Good luck to you.
1. take lots of pics of his old house and his old room.
2. set up his room first in the new house -- almost like it was.
3. have his stuff unpacked first -- sheets and stuffed animals...
4. have homecooked meal or take out heated up the first nite -- good smells.
5. have him set up his room as he likes as well.
6. let him help set up the house a bit. put his pics on the wall.
When you move try to get his room and stuff set up right away. That way he has stuff that is familier to him. And maybe if you can go pick out some new stuff out for his new room before you move that he can look forward to being able to have once you move.
Good luck and God Bless!
I just moved. Had kids ages 6, 4, 2.5, and 1. It was fine. Really their biggest concern was that by movng they thought all of the stuff in the old house stayed there (i.e. that none of their toys were coming). After understanding that our stuff, mainly their toys would be coming with us, it was no problem.
We built the house we moved into so they were out with me every day for five months seeing the progress, watching it be built. They knew which bedrooms were theirs, planned where their bed would go. Tried to convince me hot pink is a great color for a wall.
My younger at the time was two and a half.
Is there any way you can visualize what will be? Perhaps if he sees it will be okay he will be fine.
Let them pick out paint or something for the new bedroom. Then try to set it up similar to the old house. Talking about it will also help... they understand so much more then we think they do.
I have moved several times with my kids. Something I've come to learn is that very young children have some typical fears/misunderstandings about moving:
1) that they will not be able to come with you when you move (i.e. you, the parents, are moving out, and leaving the child behind)
2) that none of the child's "things" will come with you when you move
3) that the pets may be left behind (if you have any)
In my experience, it's best to wait until a week or two before the actual moving day to tell very young children (they have no real concept of time any longer than that). However, since the cat is out of the bag, reassure your son by letting him know that your whole family (you, your husband, and your son) will be moving, all together, to a new house, and that you will bring ALL of your things (his toys, the couch, the TV, his bed, etc etc), and the dog is coming, too. Let him know it will be almost the same as it is now, just more room for him to play (or whatever the upside of the new house will be - closer to cousins, close to the park, whatever).
Since short sales take forever, just try to put his mind at ease, and then don't mention it until your moving day is set in stone!
We told our boys we were moving so that new people could come and take care of the house and we will get a way neater one. Don't worry, once he's settled he will be fine, don't expect him to be comfortable with the idea, he still totally doesn't even grasp what moving really is, so don't try so hard to get him used to the idea. Be excited about his new room and what color he wants to paint it. We've moved with our kids at least 6 times. Short sales can take a while, or they can be very quick, so don't make it a big deal and he won't make it a big deal.
