We move. A lot

Have you moved a lot in your life? I lived in 4 houses from the time I was born until I graduated from High School. I never had to change schools. I really appreciated that. Since I graduated from college I have moved 11 times. In 10 years. We've been married nearly 7 years and have lived in 6 places.

Naomi has already lived in more houses than I lived in my entire childhood. She is 4 years old and has lived in 5 different places and it will be 6 before she has her next birthday. We're not talking about moves across the street either. Each move was a different town. She has already lived in 3 states. THREE states and she JUST turned 4. 

Naomi doesn't handle change well (most kids don't). We've learned a few things in the moves that have helped along the way. These are the most important;

Talk up the move before hand, but not too soon. It is important to give them as much of a visual image as possible about what is about to happen. If you are selling your house and packing up toys and such, let them be involved. Tell them as much as is age appropriate. With our latest move we started discussing that we were selling our house and moving about a week before we started getting our house staged to sell. We'd known for months but telling them so far in advance might have caused anxiety so we waited until a more appropriate time. If they were older we would have let them know sooner. When it came to talking about where we were moving, we tried to let them know what types of things we'd do once we moved and let them know as much as possible. We talked about how big our apartment would be, what toys we'd have, the fact that we'd still play outside and go to the playground, etc., etc. The important things to them. Give them the little details about what is going to happen between houses. Are you flying? Living out of suitcases for a while? You get the idea.

Keep things "normal". We try to make sure to spend lots of family time together during times of transition. Make sure the "special" toys are readily available during traveling and when you get to the new place. 

Get excited! Even if you aren't that excited, or aren't happy about the move at all, get excited for the kids. You don't have to lie, but you also shouldn't doom their move by frightening them either.

Don't plan any new developmental tasks around the time of the move. Daphne needs to be potty trained. She wants to be potty trained. The poor girls hasn't moved on to the big girl panties yet because first she had a baby sister, then moved to a "big bed" then gave up her pacifiers and is now completing a move. It wouldn't have been fair to her to try to train her right before or after the move. We have to give her time to get settled. 

Extra hugs and snuggles. Depending on their age, most little ones can't really tell you what they are thinking or worrying about. Extra snuggles and attention help to soothe them through the possibly scary time.

What has helped your kids during times of transition and moving?