How Will Our Move Affect Our Toddler

hi M. this is little late but i just saw this, we moved from Chula Vista to Murphy Cayon with a 5, 3, and new born, and they did great, it was an adventure then we moved from there over seas to Japan with a 7,4, and 22 months and they all rolled with the flow. Most children's reaction to things, comes from the parents reations, we made sure we took took some of their special toys in 2x2 toy box type like chest, we had one for each of them, we let them fill them. and the handled it feeling very secure.

you don't mention if your son is potty trained but with my 3 year old (we moved two weeks ago) that has been our biggest issue, in fact i just posted about it. he went from being completely trained to basically having accidents every single day and wearing pullups every single night. regardless, look for regression of some kind. he may become more clingy and emotional, he may show signs of separation anxiety (if he doesn't already, or worse if he already does). he may start acting out in different ways to get your attention. i have heard everything from a month to six months, for these issues to work themselves out, i figure it probably depends on the child. i know two weeks later and my son is still having potty issues. the coming baby will cause the exact same kinds of issues, so good luck. kids aren't great with change but with your love and support hoepfully he'll adjust quickly.

We recently moved across the hall to a new unit and our toddler was out of sorts for about a week. One thing our pediatrician recommended was Rescue Remedy. Just put a couple of drops on his tongue if he's anxious or unsettled. It works like a charm! Good luck!

I think this is going to first depend on your child's natural demeanor and then to how you go about doing the move. We moved when our daughter was 23 months old. She is a pretty easy going child to begin with. We did make sure to put the furniture (as best as possible) in the same locations as the first room, but it took us awhile to get all the decor up. She seemed okay with most of that and slept ok...not great the first couple of nights.

If possible, try to baby proof what you can before any time goes by. You forget how long it took you to put your first house together and to child proof. And, every house is different and will require different meaures for safety. Try to think those out in advance and have a game plan. (Maybe a relative/friend can work on that while everyone else is moving your items in.)

We had a relative take our daughter for the day while we moved and had some help with moving the furniture (and putting the crib back together)from others. I was also pregnant during the move (due next month) and supervised! :)

We also used one of the spare rooms in the new house for a play room. We tried to keep a tub of toys off the truck so she would have them to play with ASAP. This also helped. If you can, try to have a relative either come over and put things away for you while you wrangle your monkey or have the relative watch the monkey while you put things away. It is nearly impossible to put a house together with pint sized help. You will constantly be stopping to check on your son or having him hand you things that you don't want him touching.

Your son will adjust just fine! We all love the set-up of the new house and enjoy it everyday. My daughter hasn't really skipped a beat! (And lucky you for only have a 2 mile distance between houses!!!)

Good luck!

It shouldn't be too bad because the local area is the same, and as long as you keep him on his same routine he should be fine. Try to keep all his familiar things in his room, and slowly transition in new things if your looking to redecorate. The familiar things we make it feel like home to him. I would expect he will be a little uneasy the first few days as he adjusts.

For me it was very difficult for my daughter since we moved half way across the country when she was 10 months old. She went through a short stage of anxiety because of the move and the fact that her entire surroundings changed. After about a month it got better.

Don't worry too much. Children are very resilient and adapt very fast.

To avoid strong behavior change/regression, try to re-create his bedroom as similar as possible as his current one. Being able to recognize a familiar environment (same bed/ bed sheets/ decorations on the wall..) will help him.
You can also read him some books about moving and try to involve him in the process.
We moved already 3 times with our son when we was 1, 2 and 2 1/2. The first thing to be ready in the new place was the freezer/refrigerator and his room. We packed his room last (at least the visible part of it. He wouldn't care for this cloth drawers but for his toys) and unpacked it first, so he would always sleep in his bed with his favorite bedsheets, soft toys, books and toys around.
He loved helping around, making boxes (or sitting on them so we can close them), playing with his toy tools to disassemble furniture "like Daddy"...

Good luck!

We moved when our daughter was just about 2 as well. She woke at night for a while (she had been sleeping through the night), but other than that, nothing too major. We did try to keep her routine as stable as possible on both sides of the move, and she did get to see the house before we moved in, so perhaps that helped as well. Good luck!

He may regress a little back to his earlier behavior but I wouldn't worry. Kids are very adaptable. As for the new baby, you will likely have more problems with the new baby and the older child than you will have with the move. Just be sure to spend some quality time with the older child while someone else watches the baby so the older child doesn't feel as if he is being replaced. I did that with my girls even though there were 10 years between them. It worked wonders.

We also moved when I was pregnant with the youngest although it put our oldest in a whole new school; however, she did well once she found a friend she had from her previous school that had moved to our town. It helped a lot. Also, check with other moms in the area to see if you can set up playdates to help your oldest adapt and find new friends.

But don't be surprised if thumb-sucking returns if your child has stopped or if he begins to whine or act more baby-like for a little while. It's all part of the process. Just try to keep the routine as close as you can and you should do well.