Moving house - how to prepare 2 yo?

[deckchariot]

I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this or not....feel free to move it

Dh has resigned his position, and we need to be out of our home (comes with job) by May 22nd.  We will likely be moving in with my parents temporarily.  DD has never lived anywhere else, and I'm wondering how to prepare her for the move, for living with nana and papa and for moving again from there (possibly into another temporary spot and then into a permanent spot).  How much does she understand about this whole thing and are there any ways to help make the transition smoother for her as well as manage the chaos of packing up and moving house?  I'm sure there are other moms who've btdt and I'm anxious to hear how you managed!

TIA
michelle

[clazzat]

I haven't btdt, so I don't know if I have any useful advice, but my gut feel would be a) she won't really understand what is going on and b) she will find it less traumatic if she is involved in what's happening.  If you let her pack up her own stuff and explain to her why you are doing it, she might take some of it in and it might be more fun.  Has she stayed at your parents much before?  If not, maybe you could try going to stay with them a bit before you move there so that it is a bit more familiar.

Good luck!  Cx

[Mama2boys]

Hi

we moved across the pond when DS was 18 months old. We generally chatted about what we were doing, and we were moving and he would ahve a new room etc. and TBH he took the move the easiest in the family. He has (knock on wood) been totally fine with teh transition and new place etc. I woudl not worry too much about it, kids are really adaptable.

[KellyC]

Hi there

We're hoping to move over the next couple of months and I've shown Zander (3.5) the picture of the new house and explained what may be happening.  He asked if we could go now because our old house is really, really rubbish, lol!  I think in reality it'll take a little more for him to adapt but we'll just keep talking to him about what's happening and let him help pack his room up etc.  We'll also be decorating his room when we move in and will let him choose how we do that, so he has somewhere of his own in the new house.  There's bound to be a book somewhere about moving house - just found this on Amazon and there were plenty more:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moving-House-Usborne-First-Experiences/dp/0746066619/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235509817&sr=1-1

Good luck with the move!

Kelly x

[Jonahs Mom]

We moved when ds was 2 as well. It was his first home and he was moving from being just the 3 of us and hardly any friends to moving home to family - a big social change.

It depends on how resilient your LO is to change. If she does well sleeping at others, she'll probably be okay.

Anyway, I am a weirdo and made a book. I put pictures of us, our home, and his toys. Then I put a picture of moving boxes and a moving van. Then, one of him and who would be watching him when we moved. Then photos of his new house - bedroom, kitchen, play area - and again, his toys. Also photos of us again at the end and the family he would see most often after the move.
We read it each day and he was so excited when the time came.

We packed his toys last. We really wanted the physical move to be as short lived as possible for him.

the important thing is he knows that you are all going as a family, will still be a family, and her things will be there too.

And set up her room and toys FIRST so she has some normalcy.

She'll do great!

[Jonahs Mom]

Just saw Kelly's post. I don't recommend that Usborne book at age 2 - we tried. It is way too much visually, but also just a very "this is how it will be" type of story, but it may be worth a try. 

Sorry Kelly, just wanted to share our experience with it.

[Mama2boys]

oh good point. I kept DS;s bed, bedding, and bed toys with us so even if the larger space changes his perosnal space was the same IYKWIM.

At firts DS was cool and I think he thought we were on a holiday, got a bit cranky about a month after the move, but by then he wa sgoing regularly to the playground etc and he loved it.

I'd also suggest scouting out his fun activity areas like the playground, library etc and even when the move is tiring make it a point to atke him to at leats one of those areas everyday so he feels the new house and room and area is special in a good way.

[KellyC]

No problem Keri, I don't have any experience of the book at all!  Your home-made book sounds fab and something Jonah can look at when he's older which is lovely

Kelly x

[deckchariot]

Thanks for all the helpful hints!!  We do travel frequently with her and she always has been very adaptable.  She also has stayed at my folks before - both with and without us, so that should be fine.  I guess I'm worrying too much.....

one more thing - she is constantly talking about people here that she cares about - any way to prepare her for not seeing them again (we'll be moving 1000 miles away, and the situation here is so difficult that it's highly unlikely we'll be back to visit again) or will she just forget about them because she's so young?

[deckchariot]

thanks Stacy!  That really does help, I'll stop worrying about her handling it then (there's plenty of other stuff I can busy myself over!)

[Mama2boys]

ditto to what Stacy said, DS did not care about the move at all.