We are moving to a different house next month. Same city, just a couple minutes away in a bigger house. My concern is how my daughter is going to adjust to sleeping in a different house. Her bed & toys and everything will be the same. She'll be about 17 months old at the time of the move. Has anybody else moved with their child around this age? Do they adjust well at this age? How can I help her be ok with the move? Maybe we can get a lot of her toys unpacked so she can play while we unload.
She has been inside the new house a couple times, and we've let her explore the back yard there. We are going to start moving on a Monday, then we will have 2 weeks to be out of our old house. We want to try to at least be sleeping & living in the new house by that 1st Friday. We will probably spend evenings moving more boxes to the new house. Would visiting the new house every day like that be good enough for her to learn about the new house?
Thanks for all of the responses! Sounds like she should do just fine. I was all caught up in packing & planning, then all of a sudden I was worried that she might get upset or confused! I feel much better after hearing from all of you. We will probably try to set up her room similar to how it has been at our old house. As long as she knows where the dog & the kitchen are, I bet she will be fine! LOL
We moved to a bigger house when my daughter was only 18 months old and I was 9 months pregnant. She really did O.K. I was so thankful because i was worried that with moving and a new baby it would be to much but she did great. Kids adjust better than adults do to these things. As long as she has her mommy and daddy she will probably be fine. Hope this helps.
I moved my son at 18 months and it didn't seem to affect him at all...went right into his new room sleeping in his new baby bed with NO problem. Hope that is one less stress for you..moving has enough on its own :)
We moved when my son was 14 mos old. We moved from Tennessee to Texas to live with my parents. He had only been to the house a couple of times, but with everything that was his there he adjusted just fine. A couple of wakings in the middle of the night for the first couple of nights, after that he was perfectly fine.
My daughter was 16 months when we moved from an apartment to our house, and we had no problem whatsoever with her! Her room was totally different, too - much bigger. We also moved 45 minutes away from the town we were in.
We could have just been very lucky, but I think kids at that age are more adaptable than we give them credit for.
S.,
Twice I moved with a child under the age of 2 and both times had no problem whatsoever with their adjustment. Your daughter will feed off of your emotion and will be as comfortable as you allow her to be. With my first child, a boy, he kept a couple of toys out that were important and "comfortable" to him and that was that. With the second child, a girl - and a little more highstrung, I had her "help" pack her room up and I told her to put her things in and "label" her boxes so she could tell me excatly what boxes to open first when we started unpacking her room. Do not assume that just because she is 16 months old that she cannot be a part of the process. It will take a little more time, but in the long run you just might have some funny memories - I know that I do (with some pictures to prove it). Good Luck!!
Hi S.. We're military, and we've moved 6 times in our almost 13 year marriage. If there was an "easy" way to move, I think it would be the way you're going to do it. It allows your daughter time to warm up to the new house. Some people may like to do things cold turkey, but with some kid's personalities, that can be disastrous. And moving can be very traumatic for a child, but you would expect that with older kids. Just like with anything else, talk it up like it's an exciting adventure. If your daughter picks up on your dread (let's face it, moving is not fun) you may have an inconsolable kid on your hands.
Try to find things for your daughter to do to help settle in: arrange stuffed animals, "put away" tupperware, "put away" a box of towels, etc. to help her feel ownership of the new house. Any busy work that keeps her out of the boxes is the goal, even if it's something that you tidy up later. A wad of dishcloths get used up just the same as a neatly folded stack (although that was a tough one for me to swallow!).
Good luck and try to stay sane!
J.
PS- Try to use the grill as much as possible until you settle in. No pots, no pans, no hot house. You can put veggies and potatoes in one of those disposable metal pans and put foil on top= No cleanup.
My son was about the same age when we moved across town. He didn't really have any problems adjusting to sleeping in the new house. He was potty training at the time and had trouble adjusting with that. He is a big helper so while we were moving we left some of his toys out so he could carry them from the old room to his new room.
We just moved last Friday to a bigger house but across town around Research Park area. We also had to change day care. I have a 3yr girl and 1 yr boy. The new school took them a couple of days. They are adjusting to the new house very well. We kept them very involved during the whole building process. But we are very blessed that they adjust better than we thought. My 3yr girl adjusted to school must better than the 1 yr boy. He still cries when we drop him off. But it will be a week this Friday.
We moved into our house when my oldest was almost that exact same age. She was excited about her room, especially since we were painting it and we let her help a little. It was a much smoother transition than I would have thought.
Good Luck, and let her help where she can, it will make her feel included in all the hustle and bustle.
S.,
I think your daughter will be fine as her stuff will be there and the bed will be the same. Its amazing how fast kids adjust. I just moved to Nashville two months ago with a 1yr old and 3yr old and had similar concerns...will they be able to sleep?...will it stress them out?. Not a peep.
I think moves are harder on 3-5 year olds as they get more attached to "sameness".
Congrats on the new house and good luck.
-L.-
We moved recently with our son when he was 12 months and he did just fine. It honestly didn't seem to bother him. We actually moved back from Ohio so he never saw the house until the first night he slept there. Maybe you will have the same good luck. I don't know if it was because he was in his bed and all his stuff was there? I did try to set up his room first though so that it would look somewhat familiar to him.
When my son was two we moved to a different state. We could not find a house to buy, so we lived in a hotel for three months. Then we moved to a different state and moved in one house while we were fixing up another, which we moved into after about 3 months. We lived there for about eight months before moving to a different house where we stayed for two years. Before moving to a different state he had known nothing but our house in Nashville. He never skipped a beat. Kids are much more adaptable than adults. I wouldn't worry. Good luck with your new house.
The Vagabonds
S.,
We moved to a new house thirty minutes away from our old one when our daughter was about 23 months old. She had a week or so of being a little unsettled but she adjusted very well. She was really excited to investigate her new surroundings. Kids adjust a lot more easily than you might think.
B.
S.,
I also have a 16 month old we just moved 2 weeks ago to anew house to a new town about 30 min away from the old house.. He only went to the new house one time before movein and that was 2 days before the move he done real well for the most part I just let him go all over the house and play while the truck was been un packed.. He also has went in to sharein a room with his 6 yr old brother.. He slep in the same room with me and my husband till now he has got to where he wakes up in the middle of the night some times but i can go to his room pick him up and give him a hug and kiss and tell him he's ok and he goes back to sleep so i think your little girl will do fine might take about week to get use to the new place good luck
My father in law loves to tell this story: His family moved to another city and the house was full of boxes and not in order yet. His son (my brother in law) cried all night long for three nights. They finally took him to the doctor and the doctor asked if everything was set up in his room like it was in his old house. They said no...not yet. The doctor told them to set up his room like he is used to...furniture, toys, pictures on the wall etc.. They did and he slept all night long that night. Your child will probably do great with the move, but maybe setting up her room like she is used to will help ease the transition. Good luck!
