5 Ways to Prepare your Child for a Move
Moving is a time that can be full of uncertainty. Not only is it exciting to think about moving to a new place with tons of new possibilities, it’s also exciting to think about fun ways to decorate and inhabit that new space with your own style and decor. Many emotions start to swirl when a pending move is announced.
With our upcoming move, my greatest priority has become making sure that the kids are well adjusted. There’s that sense of guilt knowing that we just moved last summer, and will be moving again next summer! Yep, three PCSs in 3 years!
As an adult, it can be a time of planning, organizing, and preparation, but for children? It can be a time of confusion, questions, and anxiousness. If you find that your upcoming move may be causing emotional confusion for your child, here are some ways to help prepare them for the future move.
- Communicate with them the purpose of the move. While it may make perfect sense to you as to why you are moving, your little one may have no idea. Tell them the reasons for the move and talk to them about the process. Explain to them what to expect during the time of transition. Nobody reacts well to life-changing surprises, so it’s only fair to communicate the future plans to your child in advance.
- Show them where you will be moving to. We’ve used Google Maps and our Little Passport subscription excessively each time we’ve move! Talk about what you like about the new area, the neighborhood, and the schools. Highlight the positives to them so that they can then become excited about the same things that you are excited about. I also just discovered these books on Amazon (affiliate links) and ordered a Rhode Island one!
- Let your child help with the packing. Nothing feels worse to a child than to have the feeling of being left out. For us, the movers take care of just about everything, but I still let the girls help prep. Have them set aside their toys, clothes, and anything else that they want to help with. Since I’m purging a TON this time around, they’re able to help pick what to keep and what goes in the donate boxes.
- Consider having a going away party for your child(ren) and all their friends. If they are sad to leave their friends, why not let them have one big super fun celebration where they can say “good-bye” with a fun party? It’s a great way for them to hang out one last time before the move and spend some quality time together as well. Plus, it gives a chance to collect addresses and phone numbers from everyone for your child to have them as pen-pals from your new location.
- Stick to a schedule. Moving doesn’t mean that your normal day-to-day schedule has to suddenly become all out of sorts. Continue your days as normally as possible. During this time when your child is already feeling uncertain, it’s important to keep as much of a regular structure in other avenues as possible. Continue with school, dinner, activities, extracurricular activities and all other events that seem to occur daily and weekly. By keeping those as a constant, your child may find comfort in knowing that a move doesn’t mean that everything else has to suddenly feel unsure of in their life as well.
Preparing your child for a move doesn’t have to be stressful of discouraging. Treat them respectfully and communicate with them the updates and status of your upcoming move. Let them have emotions, converse their thoughts and feelings, and lean on your during times of uncertainty. By being there for them during this time, it can help to calm them and their thoughts for your future move. Allow your child to express themselves during this time, and appreciate their openness. Communication is key in preparing your child for your upcoming move!