Tips/suggestions for Moving to New Home

A good book to read with him is "A Kiss Goodbye" by Audrey Penn. It's about Chester the raccoon, who has to move to a new home. It's a sweet, straightforward book that deals with the emotions that kids are likely to experience.

Good luck with your move!
C.

go to flylady.net and check out her "moving control journal." she has step by step instructions to make it as stress free as possible. In cluding decluttering along the way. one of the toughest thing for moving is finding boxes. I hit up the produce manager at the grocery store. This boxes have dividers in them to hold the fruit nicely and are ver helpful. Also restaurants are great. Check with a manager to see when they get say their liquor delivery. Those boxes are medium to smallish but they have dividers too best of all they are usually really clean. (although way different from the produce ones) if you do not need the dividers just toss (recycle). As far as your 4 year old talk to them about how fun it is to be in a new place and all of the things you will discover together. If he has a problem getting rid of things tell him that some "kids who don't have toys" and stuff so you are going to give the stuff that he doesn't want/need anymore to them. That is what we tell my now 4 year old. The other day I was getting rid of some stuff from my closet and she came in and said "oh are you giving this stuff to moms who don't have shoes, and moms who don't have pants, and moms who don't have purses?" I had to chuckle a little bit but I told her that was exactly what I was doing. She gave me a hug and said she was proud of me. Good luck with your move!

A few ideas for when you get settled in:

Get your son a subscription to a child's magazine that you two can read together. He'll look forward to getting "real mail" at your new home.

Create a scavenger hunt- make a list of places in your new neighborhood that he'll be excited to "discover". Add in: the local library- arrive for children's story time, special shops, playgrounds, maybe even the kindergarten he will attend? Then share the list with him, and let him cross off the discoveries.

Last idea- my parents planted a tree for me in our yard when we moved into our new home. I loved that I had my own tree, and enjoyed watching it grow over the years. Good luck in your new home!

We're going through it right now. Can't write much, but I'll throw out a few thoughts that seem to be working for us. Get story books about the subject to start conversations, our favorite is The Moving House its from something like an Usborne Publishers got a copy at Barnes and Nobles I think. Also do the kids rooms last to pack up and unpack first in the new house so their personal space is in chaos the least amount of time. Give him a job like putting stickers on the boxes and decorating the boxes from his room. Check Craigslist for free boxes. We got lots and lots that way. Stay honest about what is happening, on his level but keep him informed. Arrange play dates and tours of places before the first day of school so he will be familiar with where he will be going on the big day. A familiar face goes a long, long way. Eat and shop at chain stores you frequent in your old home town. My little one said "Mommy, look they have a Target and a McDonald's here too." Keep their favorite games, books, toys and stuffed friends at hand at all times. Use SKYPE or other computer telephone call programs where you can see each other on the computer, to speak with and see loved ones and good friends so he understands that moving does not mean no more contact. The more NORMAL you can keep things in his life the easier the transition will be. Good luck.

J.,

Our daughter freaked out over the new house. I toke her and toys over to the house to do some pre-cleaning every time I went over I toke more toys. (The less I have to pack. When you pack throw out what you know you won't use and only pack the stuff you don't use everyday, pack more daily and lable boxes so that those moving you know what room to put things in, even if you go to the new house and lable rooms, to match box lables. This way when unpacking everything is in the right room.

My daughter hated the new house, but remember kids don't put 2 & 2 together. They see this empty house and don't understand that you are bringing your stuff. When the people came to move us she freaked out that they were taking our stuff, so we toke our clothes and left to the new house once she saw them bringing in our stuff she was ok with the move. I got her room together first so she had her place and all was well.

Pack something everyday, food, dishes & toys they don't play with all the time, as days get closer keep packing, only leave out the few dishes you will need for dinner the night before, pack them up after washing them so that in the morning all you have to worry about is getting dressed. Throwing the last items in the misc. box and your ready. Remember there are parks to go play at so you can limit toys the last week before moving. Good luck this will all be fine once you are their. J.

Hey J.,
I just went through this with a dear friend. My suggestion would be to first talk to your son and let him know what is going on. Be sure to tell him that he is moving with you. I know that may sound funny, but some kids think that the parents are moving away. :) Also, tell him the details of what will happen, that things will be boxed up, and that they will be moved by friends (or a moving company) in a big truck and moved to the new house and finally unpacked.
As for how to go about this, ask friends for help. Box up one room at a time, and save his room for last, being sure to allow him a small box of toys that will go with you in the car. This will give him something to keep him occupied while you go from one house to another. The most unsettling part about moving for little ones is not having their creature comforts.
If you have the money, you could also hire one of those moving companies that boxes and moves everything the day of the move. My husband and I did that and the move went incredibly fast. In fact, I was able to get away and go get us some breakfast while the movers did all the work. Note: if you do choose to do this, pack all your valuables in your car. This prevents breakage and theft.
Finally, be sure to pack a small suitcase for everyone the day of the move and include a change of clothes, toiletries, pajamas, etc. This will allow you time to recover from moving without having to unpack a ton of boxes that first day.

We are going through the same thing, only our kids are 12 yrs & 1 1/2. Here's what I've been doing:

1) every time there's an inspection at the new home, I take the kids. This is mostly for the 1 1/2 yr old, so she gets used to being in the home. I refer to one room as "her" room, and the other as her "brother's" room, "mommy & daddy's room", etc....My son doesn't want to move & he hates this new house (it's a fixer), but I've told him that he NEEDS to trust his dad & i - that we WILL make it awesome eventually...& I've involved him with picking out paint for his new room.

2) i have my sis/mom/teen baby sitter come over during the day for about 2 hrs & play with the baby while I pack boxes. my son will just go play at his friend's house, but in your case, maybe someone can come over & take the kids for a walk around the neighborhood or to the park for a bit while you get some packing done.

hope this helps & happy moving, mama! :-)

We just moved and the best advice I can give is to hire movers. They're expensive, I know. But, we were experiencing so much stress with our move that it leeched to our kids, especially my 4-year-old. For us, the new house, new area were not the problems. We visited it often before the move, met new neighbors, did fun stuff related to the move, and we were all excited about the change. Our issues were the physical move and the stress around all of that. I neglected my kids while we stressed about packing; I neglected them during the actual move; I neglected them while we settled in. I tried to make them part of the process, had lots of help, and they were excited, but it was obvious they were feeling my stress. I suggest making things as easy as possible for you and your husband so you are giving your kids the attention they usually get and deserve. It's been 2 months and we've just gotten back on track with our lives and stress levels. We did not do the move right and I regret that. Good luck!

For the kids te best thing to do is pack their room LAST and unpack it FIRST. Thats the fastest transition for them. To not be without their stuff Somethng familiar for too long. We have moved a lot being a military family and one thing i have learned it that the kids are first when it comes to moving. We can do without our stuff but when it comes to little kids you have to keep they comfortable!! Good luck with the move and i hope this helped!

Like you said, go through items-separate storage from used items.
Ensure strong routine before and after you move, that way kids know what to expect.
If you plan on painting,do it before you move,if you can, with low VOC paint (it doesn't smell)and set their room up first. THIS IS YOUR ROOM!!!Yeah!! With all the cozy stuff.
Kids absorb your drama, maybe they can go on a special play date while moving and just see the final result.
Kids also don't understand that their stuff goes too-reassure them that all their things are coming.
I hope some of this helps.

Hi J.,

I moved once when my sons were 5 and 18 months. Here's what worked for me...

First, I solicited help in packing, hauling, stuff like that. Since I teach high school and the school required community service, I got lots of students to help. Perhaps your church/synagogue/mosque has a youth group that would be willing to pitch in? One day, I had all the girls over and we packed up books, closets, and the kitchen. The next day, I had the boys over and they helped move all the furniture.

As I packed each box, I used colored stickers to identify which room the box belonged in. That helped sorting the boxes after the move much easier.

Second, I had a family friend (daughter of a fellow teacher) join us for our move (it was a two day drive to the new home). This was someone my sons knew well and her primary role was to be the nanny while I unpacked at the new house. She spent a week with us and, although I didn't finish unpacking in that time, I got the bulk of it done with minimal distractions and great company.

While my older son was sad to be leaving the only home he'd ever known, everyone at preschool, etc., we played up what a big adventure this was going to be and all the new friends he'd make in his new school. Since our attitude was upbeat and positive, so was his. I would acknowledge his concerns but redirect his comments to the positives (new friends, new school, new playgrounds). Each day for the week we had our nanny, we'd go do something new and fun. It was a great way to explore our new little town!

Perhaps most important of all, use this as an opportunity to ruthlessly get rid of stuff you don't use anymore. If you haven't used it in the last 6-12 months, give it to charity. I told my student volunteers that if they saw something they liked, something I was giving away, it was theirs. The boys had a field day with the yard equipment and the girls loved the party dresses. I didn't do this well enough and I'm now on my second home in my new state and I'm still moving some of the same boxes! Foolishness!

I hope this helps. Good luck in your new home!

first of all, if you have time and can go through stuff while packing or just before you get into it, try weeding out things you no longer need or want, and either donate, toss, or have a garage sale. with some exceptions, chances are, if you haven't used it in the last 6 months to a year, then you probably won't use for it at your new home. plus, it's less stuff to pack/move/unpack.
as far as the day you move, make sure you pack pajamas, toiletries and bed sheets in a separate suitcase or box that you will personally take with you to your new home (ie. not on the moving truck). the day you move is overwhelming and exhausting...and the last thing you want is to have to unpack/search boxes to find these items. this way you can just get everyone to bed, including yourself for some well deserved rest, and start unpacking the next day. good luck!

If you are doing a local move, take your little boy to the neighborhood so he can get a feel for it. Refer to the house as "our new house." Talk about "his new room." Take a walk and introduce yourself to the neighbors. Try to find kids his age. Check out near-by parks, anything that might interest him.

If you are moving away, show him the town on a map. Draw circles around parks, swimming pools, zoos, anything that interests him. Tell him about the weather, check on local events that you can look forward to.

As for the packing--ugh! Glad it's you and not me! :)

Not kid related, but help in staying organized: flylady.net
good luck