Preparing Toddler for a Move to a New House

Kids adjust remarkably well to moves, it seems like. They are far less stressed about it than we think they are going to be. Keep him informed of what's going on and why. Stay excited!!! Make it seem like a great adventure :D Then make sure that his room is set up first. When we moved, we sent my daughter to a family members house for the day. When she came home, her room was already set up and ready to go. We set up her new bedroom like her old bedroom so it was familiar.

We moved 4 times within 6 years when my kids were babies/toddlers. We told them we'd be moving each time as soon as we knew. My kids asked this question a lot....."Are we taking my bed? Toys? Car? Doors?_____? ______?" It was a little confusing for them as far as what was going, what wasn't. I think they were concerned we'd be not only leaving the house behind, but a lot of other things(mostly their toys!). I would just answer all their questions as they came. Is it possible to drive by the rental? Showing him the house before he sees it on moving day, might help. There's only so much a 21 month old will understand, so basically just reassuring him that you will all still be together and his stuff is going with you, will help.
Getting him set up as soon as possible, will be key to his security. We would make sure that the kids beds were set up before anything else. Try to keep his routine the same as much as possible. I know you will want to spend time getting the kitchen ready, etc. but making sure he gets his nightly bath and book or whatever your bedtime routine is will be more important than pots and pans. You can eat out for a a couple days, right?! :) Moving is stressful no matter how organized you are, so be patient. The more stressed and preoccupied you are, the more anxiety he will have. He's young, so you don't have to worry about leaving neighborhood friends, school,etc. Kids are resiliant\
Good luck!!

Talk about it every day and get a book or two about moving and read to him.
Also, drive by the house if you can and show it to him. Let him know that you are going to be there for a "while", but are looking for another place. Make a chart or calendar with a photo of the house on it and mark off the days, or make a paper chain attached to the photo of the house and let him remove a link each day until the move. Do these things with both homes...make it an adventure to look forward to....if you are able, let him pick out a little something to save and use in his "new" room or yard.

Nothing really. We bought a new house & moved when my daughter was 22 months old. We told her we're moving to a new house & she'll get a new cool bedroom. We made her room the very last we packed & the very first we set up at the new house. It didn't make a bit of difference to her. Kids are resilliant. I'm sure your little man will be just fine. :) Good luck and congrats on selling the house!!!

Also, let your son really check out the new house. Let him explore every corner of the place so he's comfortable in there.

Hi
Congratulations on selling your home! For your little one, I would take photos of the house you will be renting ( your son's room, kitchen, bathroom, etc.). Then I'd get photos of your current home (his room, kithcen, bathroom etc) and make a book for him. One one page put the picture of his current room, and on the next page the picture of his new room. You could add text that is on his level to help with the changes. You could even take a picture of him in his current room and one of him in his new room to make it a bit more personal. Good luck with the move and in finding your next home!

You'll be surprised...in a 2 year period, we moved 3 times, one of them being from Indiana to Colorado due to job relocations. During the first move my daughter was 2 1/2 and my son was 16 months old. Neither of them had any transitions at all. They thought it was exciting as a matter of fact. Kids are very resilient, so as long as you don't make it a big deal, they won't either. The only thing I told my 2 1/2 year old was that we were moving, and we'd be bringing all of her toys with us to put in her new room.

Our library (one of the Cuyahoga County libraries) has videos and books on just about every subject. My little guy is 23 months and it seems like understands things better when we are reading a book about it over and over. Good luck and congratulations on selling your house!