Seven books to help your child prepare for moving home
Moving home is a big change for anyone – but for children it can be especially tough. Here are seven books to help your child prepare for moving home.
There’s so much to think about, plan and do when moving home. And it’s easy to get so caught up in the practicalities (and your own feeling) that you overlook what impact relocating may have on your child – especially if they keep their worries to themselves.
For a child the prospect of moving to a strange new place and saying goodbye to their friends – especially if it’s the first big change they’ve experienced in their life – can be overwhelming.
But the good news is there are things you can do to help them prepare for the move, and to ease the transition for them. And one brilliant way to help reassure your child, and even get them excited about their new home and the friends they’ll make is through children’s books.
To help you, the experts at imoving.com have picked their seven favourite children’s books on the subject of moving. Maybe some of them might be helpful for your child?
1) The Good Pie Party
This book describes a story that is all about three friends, Mae, Posy, and Megan. When Posy’s friends discover the news that she is moving to another place, instead of being sad, they organize a farewell get-together for her and bid her goodbye with happy faces.
So, if your child is worried about leaving their friends behind, then you can read this book to them to help reduce their stress. This book will help to prepare your child for saying goodbye to their friends, so they can move on with good memories and excitement about the new friends they’re going to make when they move.
2) Tigger’s Moving Day
The writer of this story has gone to great lengths to show reallocation as a fun adventure. Tiger, the character from Winnie the Pooh, decides to move when he realizes that there is no reason to stay in his current home any more. The book talks about the procedure of moving and is all about friendship and togetherness, helping your child to move without any stress.
3) A Kiss Goodbye
The plot of this book focuses on a character called Chester Raccoon, who is forced to move home, along-with his whole family. Audrey Penn beautifully expresses the sadness of Chester, which he experiences in the early days of his move, and how he overcomes the emotion, and later adapts to his new surroundings and friends.
This story will help your child to understand that any emotions they may experience at the change are temporary, and that with time their strange new home and friends will become familiar and they can settle in and be happy.
4) I Like Where I Am
Jessica Harper, the writer of this story, depicts every feeling that we can experience when moving home. This is a great book for young children thanks to the animated and enjoyable drawings. The plot is all about a young, six-year-old child who goes through all the anxious feelings when moving home.
It can help prepare your children for the upheaval and let them know that any feelings they may have are okay, and that they’re not alone – and that they can ultimately be excited about their new home.
5) The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day
The authors of this book imagined a character called Brother Bear who, along with his family, needs to say goodbye to his friends, and move from the mountains and to a new tree house home.
The story talks about the string of sentiments felt by the bear as he is packing his belongings, and will be a great read for young children who are feeling nervous or sad about moving home.
6) Big Ernie’s New Home
This story revolves around a cat called Ernie and his owner, Henry, who decides to move from his current home in Arizona. The author of the book, Terese Martin, describes the different feelings experienced by the cat as it makes the move, and how it ultimately feels at home.
This will help your child to learn that change is not a big thing; it is a normal part of life. And can help them to embrace and adapt to their new surroundings more quickly and easily.
7) Henry and Mudge and Annie’s Good Move
This is the story of Henry and his dog Mudge who warmly welcome their new neighbor Annie. They help Annie to settle into her new home and provide her with any help she needs. They build a strong friendship with Annie, and help her feel good about her move.
This book is a good example of the importance of friendship, and how making new friends is a good opportunity. So if you have decided to move and your child is worried about leaving their friends and making new friends, they may find this book reassuring.
Help your child see your move as an exciting adventure
Your child will look to you for guidance and reassurance when moving home. And these books will help give you ideas and support to make the change as smooth as possible for them before you leave, during the tricky moving process, and as they settle into their new home.
Encourage your child to share any feelings with you, and help them to see the move as an exciting adventure and the opportunity to make lovely new friends.
