Moving with Kids

If you are moving with children, you have an additional checklist and many more emotions to manage.  Teenagers can have an especially hard time with a move, but even a little baby can sense a change in schedule, routines and scenery. 

Health

• Find a new pediatrician, dentist and eye-care professional for your kids – ask the school secretary who the popular doctors are and visit them ahead of time if you can.  Or ask your current doctor if they have a referral in the new city or town.  Make sure they belong to your insurance plan if you are changing jobs.

• Contact your old doctors and transfer medical records to the new providers or request copies to carry yourself.  (Don’t forget your x-ray films from your dentist and radiologist.)  Make sure you have up-to-date immunization records.

• Keep your old doctors’ contact information for future reference, if needed.

School

For some, choosing a school for the children is top priority and often dictates where a family will choose to live.  Once you’ve established the appropriate school system, consider the following task list to stay organized:

• Register at new schools – do this as soon as possible – don’t wait until school is about to start.  Some schools require brand new physicals on file, so you might need to schedule a doctor’s appointment for your child.

• Transfer school records – You’ll need information about both schools in order to do this, and sometimes it is required that the child is properly registered in the new place before records can be transferred.  Check on this before you leave to see if your signature is required to release the records from the old school.

• Find time to tour the new school with child before first day.  This is so important, both for you and for your child.  Seeing it makes it less scary because there are fewer things left to the imagination.

• Set up school transportation.  If your child will ride the bus, make sure you are on the list of stops and ask where and when the bus will pick up/drop off.

• Find out about extra-curricular activities.  When you register your child, ask the school staff for flyers on local activities and sports.  You may need to sign up early.  This is a good way to let your children make new friends in smaller groups.

• Get copies of text books if possible.  Some parents are very involved with their child’s day-to-day schoolwork.  It might be helpful to have copies of the new text books in case some of the teaching methods are new and different from the old school.

Friendships

• Talk to your children about the move and listen to their concerns.  Let them know that moving away from friends doesn’t mean they have to end the friendships.

• Allow time for good-byes.  Have a going away party or get-together for the kids ahead of time.  Be sensitive to their needs and don’t just rush off with the moving van without giving them time to say good bye.

• Encourage your child to take photos of her friends and maybe even make a small photo album for a keepsake.

• Help your child gather friends' addresses and phone numbers so they can correspond after the move.

• Schedule future visits with old friends if possible.

• Help your child make new friends by involving them in activities or inviting new neighbors to your home for play time.

Environment

• Know your children and decide ahead of time if they should be around during moving day.  In most cases, it's probably easier on everyone if they can stay somewhere else while the moving company is emptying their home.

• If you have a long trip to your new home, make sure the child has their favorite toys and security items with them - don’t let them get lost in the pile of boxes.

• Talk about your new home and your child’s room ahead of time - let him see it, or pictures of it, if possible.

• Let children help in the decoration process.  You might have to bite your lip, but letting a child help make the decisions about what his room looks like can go a long way toward helping him feel comfortable in a new place.  Talk about things your child has always wanted to do in his room and consider if now is the time to allow it

Stay upbeat and help your children focus on the positive sides of moving, but acknowledge their fears and sadness, too.  It's a stressful time for everyone.  Don’t get so wrapped up in your “to-do” list that you forget that your children have special emotional needs during this time of upheaval and change.  Lots of books have been written on the subject; it might help to read up on how to best parent your child through a move.