The Best Time of the Year for Relocating

When it comes to moving your family—whether across town or across the country—the thought of the best time to relocate them always comes to mind. Some people feel that you should always wait until the summer months because the children are out of school. Others try to schedule moves around holidays for the same reason—school schedules. There are also many people who have no say as to when they move, and this is where some problems can occur.

It only makes good common sense to try and wait until a break in the school schedule comes along before you take your children to a new environment with new people and places all around them. Being dropped smack dab in the middle of things doesn’t always go over well with children, and is almost certain to start a lot of anxiety and frustration for the entire family.

No one ever said that moving was easy, and when you add in a family who doesn’t want to leave the place where they’ve been living all of their lives, you have a mess of problems to deal with. If you’re lucky enough to have plenty of time to plan your move and explain to your family why they have to move away with you, count yourself blessed. The simple fact is though, that most people don’t like moving and that is not going to change anytime soon.

Moving your children to a new school can be traumatic for everyone in your family, but many studies have shown that doing the move during the school year—or during a break in the school year—can have a beneficial effect on your distraught child. By forcing the child back into a regulated schedule, the transition can be more easily accepted by their subconscious. Having at least part of their life regulated (school schedule) can help to balance out the chaos they live in immediately after the moving is over.

It’s important to keep an eye on your child’s behavior before, during and after your moving for any signs of stress or frustration. A loss of appetite can signal a problem, as can a fading interest in once-loved hobbies. Of course it goes without saying that there will most likely be mood swings and periods of unrest throughout the move and in the months to follow. It may take your child a long time to feel comfortable enough in the new neighborhood to leave the house after school for any sort of activity.