Moving to St. Louis with Kids

Whether you are relocating your family to St. Louis from a different state or just moving to a new neighborhood across town, the process can be stressful—especially with kids. Preparing them, listening to them, and adding a sense of adventure to the process are all things that can suppress children’s fears and keep your stress levels under control. Below is a guide and some resources that can help.

Preparing Kids for Moving

• Get Them Ready: Don’t just tell them what will be different. Tell them what will be the same. All the things in their room and the family pets get to move too!
• Allow Their Angst: Most experts estimate that it takes 6 months to acclimate. Try skype-ing with old care-givers, friends and family members to help ease those tears and tantrums.
• Walk the Walk: Stay positive and model how to manage your emotions constructively. Don’t bad mouth the new town. Try to highlight wonderful things about the new place.
• Give Them Gumption: Kids generally have zero input into the move. If you are being relocated they have no control in that. Find decision opportunities to seek out their opinions and allow them some input in the process.
• Get to Know Neighbors: Sign up for a lot of activities. Let the kids try many different things in an effort to find something that really clicks.
• Soup Up Their Social Skills: Practice a conversation opener at home. Let them in on what’s popular in the area so they can quickly find some common ground.

Things About St. Louis to Help Excite the Kiddos

• 50 Things To Do With Kids in St. Louis is written by a native St. Louisan and oh so helpful.
• Forest Park for Kids provides all kinds of things to do, much of it FREE!
• MOMS (MOMS Offering Moms Support®) is a support group designed primarily for at-home mothers, but the chapter is open to everyone. They are a non-profit, non-denominational support organization.

Resources for Moving

Books can help ease the transition for your kid. The links below are to Amazon, but we always encourage you to shop local. Try Novel Neighbor or Left Bank Books in St. Louis. And of course, there’s always the library!

Moving Books for Pre-K and Elementary Kids

• Moving to the Neighborhood (Daniel Tiger) by Alexandra Cassel & Jason Fruchter
• The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day by Stan & Jan Berenstain
• Boomer’s Big Day by Constance W. McGeorge (great for families with pets, spoken from the pet’s perspective)
• New House, Same Underwear by Brenda Lee
• The Great Big Move by Meghan Marie Geary and Brooke O’Neill
• Moving Away Will Be Okay! by Kellie Carte-Sears
• Home is Where The Heart Goes by Chloe E. Gore
• Let’s Get Ready to Move! by Beth Breaux
• My New Home Adventures Journal Notebook
• A New Home for Eden and Ethan by Debi Gueron
• Gracie and Mouse are Moving House by Dr. Naomi Tyrrell
• Goodbye, Old House by Margaret Wild
• A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby
• I Heard That You’re Moving! by Nicole M. Gray

Moving Books for Tweens and Teens

• The Essential Moving Guided Journal for Pre-Teens by Sara Elizabeth Boehm
• The Essential Moving Guided Journal for Teens by Sara Elizabeth Boehm
• New Kid, New Scene: A Guide to Moving and Switching Schools by Debbie Glasser and Emily Schenck

Moving Resources for Families

• Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to Ease Your Family’s Transition to a New Home by Lori Burgan
• The Essential Moving Guide For Families: Practical Advice To Ease Your Transition And Create A Sense Of Belonging by Sara Boehm

Web Resources for Moving With Kids

• Advice for Moving With Children from Child Mind Institute
• Smooth Move: Make Moving Easier on You and Your Kids from Parents Magazine
• Moving With Kids: 23 Can’t Miss Tips to Help You Cope from Parenting Squad

We’ve helped many families move and have detailed checklists designed to help your family and kids with the process. We’d love to help you with your journey. Contact us for more information.