Moving can be a stressful time for the entire family, but it is an especially challenging time for children. As you go through the moving process, there are many ways that you can ease your child’s worries and make the transition as smooth as possible.

• Maintain a Positive Attitude: Children are often afraid of the unknown, and they generally look to others for clues on how to behave when they are unsure of themselves. Staying positive throughout this transition period is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. Be sure to emphasize the positive aspects of moving and make it exciting for the child.
• Communicate: Remember to keep the lines of communication open by encouraging your child to share their thoughts or feelings, even if they’re negative. Make sure you child knows that they can ask you questions at any time. If you have a younger child, get a book about moving from the local library, such as “The Moving Book: A Kid’s Survival Guide” or “What About My Goldfish?” and read it with them.
• Maintain Routines: It can be easy to forget about your usual routine as you get swept up in the move. However, if Friday nights are usually family game nights, stick with that tradition as much as possible to provide your child with a sense of security and continuity during this unsettling time.
• Hold a Yard Sale: Moving is the perfect time to get rid of clutter that can accumulate over the years. Enlist your children to help by having them decide which possessions they would like to keep during the move and which ones can be sold. Once the sale is over, consider giving them some of the money from the sale of their items to purchase a new toy or book once they are settled into the new home.
• Hold a Memorable Sendoff: Help your child say good bye to your old house or their friends. This can be done with a small gesture, such as planting a tree in the backyard that will remain long after your move or by donating a book to the school’s library that other children can enjoy. You can also have your child give their friends postcards with your new home’s address on it. Then, ask the children to mail notes to your child after you move. Your child will enjoy the thrill of getting mail at their new home.
• Become Familiar with Your New Town: Before you move, take you children on a tour of their new home and community. Let them select their bedrooms and decide where their furniture will go, and then take them to meet their future teachers or coaches. If that’s not possible, then take your children on an online tour of the community and their new school.
• Give Kids Control: Let your child have a voice in the design of their new room, which can make them feel more secure. Also, make sure the new space is more exciting than their old bedroom so they will be happy to be in it.
• Make a Map: The fear of being lost is common for children when they move. To help alleviate this fear, create a large map on a sheet of poster board that includes your new home, their school, ball fields or any other places that they will be frequenting.
• Get Involved: Once you’ve settled in your new home, enroll the child in a club, class or sport that interests them. This will help them to make new friends, especially if you move during the summer when school is out. This tactic also applies to tweens, since a move can be especially challenging for someone going through adolescence.

When you are searching for a new home, it’s important to consider if your entire family will enjoy the new location. Grovetown, Ga. offers a small town feel and quality of life that the whole family will find appealing, especially your children. Start your new home search in Grovetown by visiting Keystone Homes’ Chamblin Ridge community. For more information on these new homes, visit www.BuildKeystone.com.