Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Tomorrow, my family (my husband, son and I) are moving to South Florida. My son is 4 years old, he is already starting new school on Monday. New home, new school, new environment.
Anyone went through this? Any advice on how to make a transition smoother?
Wow, that's a very big transition! We moved last summer but had two weeks between our arrival and when the kids started school. Your son is four, so I assume you mean preschool. Is it vital that he starts on Monday? Are you and your husband immediately starting work, or do you have a week or so that you and your son can take to get used to the new house and start unpacking? Has your son seen the new house yet? Is he excited or afraid?
We moved from Texas to Pittsburgh when my daughter was 4. These are not deep insights but try to keep your home routine as similar as you can at first. If you can, unpack his stuff and set up his room up quickly. Get him to help as he is able. Even though we were renting a furnished house while we househunted, we brought a U-haul trialer full of stuff to be more comfortable (including baby stuff for our other child). We brought almost all of the 4-year olds belongings with us in the trailer. I think this may have helped some.
Don't let unpacking and/or househunting be the only thing you do for the first month - get out and do some fun things for kids to show him that his new home is a fun place.
I agree you may want to wait a day or 2 to start school, if you can, esp. if you will be driving all weekend. We drove Fri, Sat, and arrived on Sunday and I had to start work on Wednesday. On the Monday, I asked if she wanted to go to her new school for a visit, she said no and I didn't force it. On the Tuesday, she did a half day and then all day starting Wed. This worked pretty well.
Be patient with him (and yourself) and remember adjusting to change takes time.
Actually him starting school on Monday could be a good thing, if he likes school and is excited about it. That would give you some time to unpack and settle things while he is gone and when he returns it will seem more like home and maybe be less stressful on that end.
Just a thought.
Yes, we moved from NY to IN and then IN to FL as well. My daughter is older than your kids though. I think an important thing to do is to always keep a positive spin (dont mention missing anyone in front of them) and always keep them busy so they don't have time to dwell. I agree its good to start school right away and be active, meet friends, etc. We moved a couple months before her 13th bday and it went fairly smoothly. She was excited about it at first, but the reality of not seeing friends/family regularly does settle in as well.
We just moved but had 2 months before buying our home and then after that 2 weeks later we started school. The kids are resilient; he will love making new friends and maybe it will be exciting to say he moved from such a far away place. If he mentions former friends, have him make a note to them and mail it to the friend, hoping to get return mail from those friends--they love to get mail. We send/get packages all the time now. Good luck!
We moved when my oldest was almost 4 and again when #2 and #3 were 3.5 and 4.5.
My oldest pestered me almost immediately to start preschool so he could make new friends. He really wanted to get in there and do kid stuff.
The second move I mention was after my #2 child had had a year of K3, 3 mornings per week. She did talk about missing her friends from K3 for a while, but as soon as she started Kindergarten a year later, she made a lot of new friends. Had we been able to send her to K4, she probably would have adjusted faster.
I agree if he is tired from the move, go do something fun with him Monday if you can and let him rest.
He will be fine faster than you think though. It gets harder as they get older, in my experience.
We've done several big moves from one state to another. When children are young is the ideal time to move if you must move, as they get older and their friends become much more important in their daily lives it's not as easy. We've decided not to make anymore big moves until our kids are on their own. They have good groups of friends and are happy and comfortable in this community and have found where they fit in with extracurricular activities and school groups and so on... Your son should be fine. He's still at such a young age that he will adapt quickly. I wouldn't worry too much about it... my advice would just be - set up his new room first. Let him help choose and set it up if he wants to or seems interested in doing so. Get lots of books and coloring books that talk about your new current home... they have great coloring books that are also educational for kids. Just spend as much time as possible with him... walking your neighborhood, finding the local parks, playing in his new room, playing hide and seek in his new house. And if you're a stay at home mom, try to find some other moms with kids his age that you both can socialize with. That's one of the hardest parts of a long distance move from a mom's perspective - kids often make friends really easily, but it seems to take longer or be a bit more of a challenge for us moms. When they are pre-K age it's much easier to make other mom friends, but as the kids get older it's harder...
Look for a book on moving (like Berenstein Bears or Mercer Mayer series) and read it often. Talk about how exciting it is to move. Let him pick out new sheets for his bed when you get there (he can be thinking about what theme now). Usually kids this age will cue in to your mood so try to be positive through the stress of moving! Good luck!
Location: where the moss is taking over the villages
2,184 posts, read 5,548,973 times
Reputation: 1270
For your son
Quote:
Originally Posted by max's mama
Tomorrow, my family (my husband, son and I) are moving to South Florida. My son is 4 years old, he is already starting new school on Monday. New home, new school, new environment.
Anyone went through this? Any advice on how to make a transition smoother?
It would be nice to keep a box of his favorite things available at all times, until he has his new room put together.
A favorite interactive toy & a favorite book or two for travelling would help him focus on familiar things that are calming. Reading to him before bed can give a little something pleasant to count on while travelling & settling in.
Best wishes on your big move!
Kate
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When they are pre-K age it's much easier to make other mom friends, but as the kids get older it's harder...
For your son
