We have moved quite a bite for my husbands job. 4 states in 8 years. We arranged it so that I was always a full-time mom, so they always had me there for them. I volunteered a lot (A LOT) at their schools which helped them feel comfortable in the new school setting and it helped them make friends faster (in our experience, this has been the case - when you volunteer you meet other parents and play dates and getting together sort of things happen pretty quickly which helps establish friendships, etc. It also helps you learn a lot about your new community, which is very helpful.)
We also gave the kids as much control over their own lives as possible, giving them lots of choices, which I think is very important. When families have to move, often the kids can feel as if they have absolutely no choice in the matter and no control over their own lives. So we engaged the kids into as much of the decision making process as we could every time we had to move. They helped us find the schools, they helped us choose the home, they helped us decide where we would shop for our groceries, what we would have for meals, etc. And especially when setting up their environments - they decided how to set up their rooms and bathroom, etc. Also with choices like haircuts, clothing, etc. I let them follow their own minds and hearts about those things. I still do, even though now we've settled and aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
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