by Erica Beiser
Something that becomes a very quick reality when moving is School. Once children start going to school, it becomes a very big part of their lives. The thought of having to leave behind their teacher and friends can be devastating. I have some suggestions for making the transition easier.

Before leaving the child’s old school behind throw a “going away party,” with the okay of school staff members. Have your child make up a small bag with a picture of him or herself, a note telling friends how much they mean to him or her, and a index card with your new address. Everyone loves a pen pal!!

Contact the new school your child will be attending. Find out what activities are available before or after school, including clubs and gatherings with other students. These kinds of activites help all children interact and make new friends. Once you have established yourself in your new home, invite a couple of your child’s new-found friends and parents over on the weekend for coffee. This will let you also make new acquaintances, as your children make new friends.

Remember that a playmate for a younger child is a very important part of the transition to a new city. Your Barrett Moving and Storage move coordinator may be able to provide other ideas as well, depending on the location you are moving to. Smile & Happy Moving.

by Erica Beiser

Keep in mind, that the moving process for small children rates right up there with green beans!! You have to make it fun, a new experience, an adventure!! Fortunately, there are lots and lots of things that need tending to when moving.

Let your children sort through their toys and pick the ones that they can donate. When you make the trip to the donation site, let the kids lead the way – it makes them feel important.

Let your kids pick the color of their new room, it’s only paint!! Or better yet a theme, like baseball, dinosaurs, or princesses.

Try to get your kids hyped up about all the “new” stuff in their new town. And best of all, their new school! All chilren love to play with new kids. Try to get as much information about activites in your new area. You may be able to get further information from your move coordinator at Barrett Moving and Storage.

Children adjust rather well to moving, as long as they are reassured that with change will get for the better, and that soon enough everything will go back to normal. Smile and Happy moving.

by Erica Beiser

Let’s be honest, who would want to leave behind their school and friends? Not many children would, but this is a tough reality of moving when small children are involved. In a larger than life world, everything they know and rely on as normal, will change drastically during the moving process.

Parents should try to explain the reason behind moving, i.e. job, family, etc. Be prepared for you child to “vent.” They may do naughty things, be irritable and act out. This is a normal process that all children go through. Try to redirect their attention. Make them part of the “adventure.” Have fun with the normal tasks of the move process.

Give children a moving box and packing paper and have them pack up their “special toys.” Let them pick where there favorite stuffed animals will go, for example. Let them write their namew on their boxes for their rooms. Let them know that they can help decorate their new room. To help improve the outlook for children, make it a family activity to get information about the new home town they will be moving to – parks, playgrounds, school activities, fairs, etc. This information can be located a variety of ways, such as the internet, local Chamber of Commerce, local news papers, and possibly your move coordinator.

Everyone at Barrett Moving and Storage will do what they can to make a move as easy and fun for all, not the dreaded chore!! Children as well as parents should try to have a very positive outlook, and the process will not be as tough of a transition for anyone. Smile and Happy Moving!!

by Erica Beiser

Even though I work at Barrett Moving & Storage, handle local, cross country and international moves daily, this does not make me immune to the normal responses of children, including my own!! My fiance and I are in the process of buying and moving to our second home. We have spent countless hours going over details and plans of what we would like to do and where we will put things in our new home.

In the midst all of this, all we are told by our three-year-old daughter “But I like my house, I don’t want to move.” That is when the mother part of me kicks in and I tell her it will be fine and to go play and not worry about it. But, after giving it more constructive though, I decided to go at it from another angle. Mind you she is three, and the only home she knows is the one we currently live in, so to her, “Why move??” is a logical question.

What we have taken to doing is when we are discussing the possible new house, I go and get her, and include her in the conversation. She has seen the home in question, so when speaking about it she knows what we are talking about. I bring up things like, “Think about the super big yard your swing set can go in.” and “Maybe when you get a little bigger we could get a dog because the yard is fenced.” Things that she can relate to and understand.

We have tried to make this a huge adventure for her. She would live closer to her grandma, and that has been a big plus in our favor, because what child doesn’t like to go to grandma’s house? And, thankfully she is starting to understand why we might be moving: so we have more room for all HER stuff!!! Happy moving to me!!!