The Challenges of Moving With Military Children
Free Download below with an step by step video guide
Military children living behind the wire
Moving house is really difficult, but adding children into the mix can be quite an experience, to say the least. I remember having to sit down and have a conversation with my children about moving and relocating. I’m not going to lie—it wasn’t the easiest of conversations, especially for my middle child, who had only ever known life on our small military base and had grown used to the military base lifestyle.
Packing with Military Children is no easy task
Then came the difficulty of packing. Packing up her toys was probably the biggest struggle. Naturally, she didn’t want anything packed away. She wanted to play with her toys, and trying to explain to a child that everything had to be packed in boxes to arrive safely at our next location seemed to fall on deaf ears. She was too young to fully comprehend what was going on around her, so I came up with a plan to help make the transition smoother.
A Creative Solution: The Backpack Game
I devised a little game and asked her to grab her favourite backpack. I then told her the story of Anna, and we started to select nine of her favourite small toys. She chose items like Polly Pockets, a teddy bear, a colouring book, and a few other small toys.
I explained to her that these would be the only toys she would have access to, and that the other toys needed to be safely packed into boxes to ensure they arrived safely at the new house. She was super excited to pack her bag and was even more thrilled because she knew this bag would come with us into the car for our journey to our new home.
For the next few weeks, her backpack went everywhere with her, providing a sense of comfort amounts the midst of change and chaos.
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