Relocation Guide – Helping your Children Relocate
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Helping Your Children Relocate

Moving can be tough on kids. When you’re an adult, moving can be an exciting experience – new places, new challenges, new horizons.

For children however, it can be quite traumatic. Kids often have a tough time moving. It’s not easy to leave friends, school, sports teams, or familiar surroundings. Kids can also get angry with parents for disrupting their lives.

The most successful relocations are the ones in which parents take their children’s concerns into consideration from Day One.

What can a parent do to ease moving stress for kids?

  • Take an upbeat approach to the "adventure of moving."
  • Involve your children in relocation planning.
  • Take kids to visit the new city in advance if you can. If not, bring pictures and videos of the new city, school, neighborhood, and new home.
  • When you arrive, take time out from unpacking to have some family fun exploring the new town.

Relocating Your Preschooler

Preschoolers typically are quicker to adjust in new surroundings than older children, so long as parents are nearby. Their biggest fears are being separated from parents or being “left behind.”

Deal with these fears by maintaining their daily schedules and by setting up their room in the new home as quickly as possible.

Relocation and your Elementary School-Age Child

Kids in elementary school worry about how their daily routines will change in a move. Will they have to give up soccer or ballet? Will they like their new teacher? Will they be able to make new friends?

Plan a moving/goodbye party for your elementary school-age kids, and stage a new home welcome celebration. Be sure to ask your real estate relocation specialist for information about extracurricular options for kids that can help them feel at home.

Relocating with Teenagers

Teens hate to move. Their friends are the center of their world and “fitting in” is their greatest concern.

Moving teenagers calls for a great deal of understanding and patience on the part of parents. Stay positive but don’t be unrealistic about your move. Be tolerant of your teenagers’ perfectly normal anger and resistance. Support them by encouraging them to stay in touch with old friends via telephone and email even while you help them get used to their new surroundings. Most important, keep communication channels open between you and your teens.

Don’t Forget School Records

As you plan your move, don’t forget to pick up school and medical records prior to relocation. It’s much easier to get these documents in person than by long distance, and it’s invaluable to have them in-hand when you enroll your children in their new schools.

Learn More About Corporate Relocation
To learn more about other Corporate Relocation and personal relocation topics, please review the other articles in this section.

To find a GMAC Real Estate agent with certifications as a Corporate Mobility Specialist or as a Relocation Professional please click here.

If you are a Corporate Relocation manager and would like to learn about the services GMAC Home Services can offer your businesses, please visit the GMAC Global Relocation Services website.

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Takeaways

  • Relocation is more difficult for kids than adults.
  • Daily routine is important for younger children.
  • Friends, both old and new, are the key for teens.

Did you know?

  • Make sure you have school and medical records for your kids.