Preparing LO for moving

[mtbmomma]

We will be moving across the country in a month and I'm wondering what would be the best way to make this a smooth transition for my DD who is 18mo. She is already having a hard time with us getting rid of some stuff (she bawled for 5 minutes because I sold an old pair of tennis rackets this morning). I think the hardest part will be packing up her toys and books, which we will be shipping to our new place, and also her bed. I don't know if there is an easy way to do this without lots of tears, but if anyone has ideas or experience I would love to hear it. Thanks.

[NicaG]

We moved (just a mile away) when ds was about 2.5. One thing that helped us was we got him a toy moving truck (a Bruder cargo truck) and played a lot loading stuff in and moving it to a house we built out of blocks. Sounds corny, but I think it was helpful.

[SallyN]

Play is good.
We moved when DD1 was 3. She is VERY dramatic and does not deal with change/transition very well. We focused on the positives of the move. Fortunately, we had a very obvious one (DH was working OOT and we were moving so that he'd be home every night... this is very easy for a toddler to understand, lol!)
That was last fall. Honestly, she still gets upset when she remembers her outdoor playhouse that we gave away, and her blow-up swimming pool. But surprisingly, she didn't have any problems with the men who came and boxed all of our things up over the course of two days?
Does she understand mail? Maybe some grandparents or friends can send her some mail... then she can be on the receiving end and it might make it easier for her to visualize all the boxes going somewhere specific (as opposed to "away")?

Another friend moved cross-town, and they made their son a book about their old house (shutterfly I think?)

[mtbmomma]

Thanks for the ideas. I like the book about moving one, that might work for her. She really loves books and seems to understand the concepts of the stories. I was thinking of getting lots of plane books from the library too, since we will be flying. We are moving from HI to WA.

[blackbird2]

It might help to take pictures of her favorite things/places/people and print them out. Has she been where you're moving to? Pictures/stories about what it will be like living there might be helpful too.

[mtbmomma]

Hmm, now I feel like I need to get my butt in gear to make some of this stuff. She has never been where we are moving, we are going to Washington from Hawaii, and she hasn't been on a plane for 8 months, and I don't think she remembers it. I think we will wait until the last minute to pack her stuff, and maybe have a special stuffed toy or something to give her when we do. Has anyone tried something like that?