Our moving process!

All the moving process has been such a hard one not just for mommy (packing, re-organizing and cleaning) but for our little one. Pinky is almost 3 years old and I think this is a difficult age to explain the process about moving to a new place. She can talk, ask questions and sometimes express her feelings (tantrums, mad faces, crying, screaming or aggression) but she needs time, patience and lots of repetition about the new situation.

This post is about how I managed the moving phases with our little princess:

Before moving (Packing)

1. Talk to your child about the up-coming moving- We started talking about going to a new house with a great school around 2 months before we moved. I showed her photos from the new state, school, playgrounds by browsing on internet. We used an enthusiastic voice tone and imagined all the new adventures and new friends to come.
2. Try to meet the new home/neighbor before moving- We traveled twice to our new place. First we came to visit Pinky’s new school, the new place to live and expended the weekend looking around the neighbor. Second, we came to see our officially new home and stayed for the weekend at it. Here’s Pinky enjoying her new home:



3. Let your child be part of the organizing-cleaning-packing process- She helped me to clean our electronics and other stuffs before we packed them. Good practical life experience!                        
4. Let the child express him/herself personalizing the boxes- She did some masterpieces with our boxes using crayons, pencil, pens and mommy’s old makeup. This was a great activity because she felt useful while mommy had time to think about what to do next.
5. Let available some creative toys (unpacked)- LEGOS!!! I prepared some cards for her to copy.

During moving day 

1. Invite friends with little kids to help- We had some friends to help us putting everything inside the truck and traveling with us to the new place. The best part, they brought their little ones with them. Pinky was so excited about helping and coping what the other girl was doing that helped her with the chaos. It was an adventure!

After moving

1. Set your child bedroom-space at first- Try to organize everything as it was at the old place and engage your kid to redecorate their bedroom as they wish. (Sorry, I don’t have any pic available)

2. Engage your child with activities around the neighbor- Get to know the surroundings. Playgrounds are the best because Pinky can play with other kids. Also, we take walks around the neighbors, going to restaurants and visiting stores that she is familiar with (department stores that mostly look the same) like Target, Macy’s, Marshalls! About the restaurants, we ate pizza around 3 times in one week. Why is that? Ok, I know it is not that healthy but Pinky loves pizza and we had a pizzeria next to the supermarket that we used to do the shopping. Therefore, this request is more like a way to cope about the moving (creating security about what she already knows). She’s almost 3 years old and, although, she is mature for her age, she can’t understand or express what is going on and why are not going back “home”. Furthermore, I got part of a meet up group for parents in the area which is a great resource not just for little princess to meet new friend but for mommy, as well. This way we can know about festivals, family friendly activities and places around.            

3. Call family members or friends- While she is talking to them, I tried to remind her about new experiences or discoveries and let her to share about them. She really gets excited at this moment!
4. Try to fill your patience up while your bundle of joy have lots of melt-downs, doesn’t sleep though the night or wakes up crying, wants to sleep with you or gets aggressive (yes, we are having those!). Just cuddle and play as much as your old body allow you.

This is how we were and still trying to help our little one about the moving. However, it is a long process. In the meantime, we are ALLOW to have lots of summer fun!!!