Guest Post by Brady Brittain, a REALTOR  with RE/Max Select whose focus and passion is serving families in Bryan and College Station. Brady is the father of three children, and a foster dad as well. He understands that your family is important, and he will work to ensure your home sale or purchase has a positive impact on your family.

Brady is also a faithful sponsor of BCS Families.  His support enables us to keep families informed, encourage family fun, and save parents valuable time.

Do We Have to Move?

What do you do when it’s time to move and you realize you are not simply relocating to a new house, you are altering life as you know it for your family?  Whether moving across the country or across the street, your family is a major consideration when you decide to move.  Will school change?  Will your commute to work be longer?  How convenient will it be to drive to church 2-3 times per week (or more)?  Will you lose friends?  Will your children lose friends? I grew up in a stable home and the house I was brought home to as a baby was the house I moved away from to go to Texas A&M.  I never experienced this great moving adventure as a child but I have helped many clients handle the multi-faceted stresses of moving.  I may not be there when the conversation with your children takes place, but I can see the effects of moving on their faces. Moving is stressful on everyone.  Before you jump right in, be sure to consider how it affects each member of your family.  Life is about people and relationships.  More money and bigger houses are not always worth the strain it puts on your family.  Take some time.  Involve the entire family.  Here are a few questions you may want to ask each family member:

1. What worries you about moving?
2. What excites you about moving?
3. What will you miss the most about your current home?
4. What are the top 3 things you would want in a new home?
5. Do you want to move at all?
6. Do you understand why we have to move?

You may find it helpful to list all the positives on one column and all the negatives on the other.  Then decide as a family how to proceed.  Your children may not have the final say in what kind of house you buy or if you even move at all, but if you include them in the decision making process they will feel as if they had a say in it.  At the very least, they will know you cared enough to ask them their thoughts and feelings. Also, be sure to find out as much as you can about what their life will be like at the new place.  We all tend to fear the worst when we don’t know what to expect.  Be sure to gather information on anything your children are interested in or currently involved in.  Here are a few tips:

• Get some photos of the school they will go to, your new neighborhood, your new church
• Get the names of their teachers, coaches, instructors
• Get them information on clubs, teams, and events they are involved in

Make it easier to say goodbye.  Make a moving “survival kit” for the kids.  You can have pictures of them and their friends, their favorite stuffed animal, games, pictures of the old house, etc.  Any item that is important to them should go in the kit and they can keep it with them while you are moving.   Finally, make plans to keep in touch with old friends.  You can even Skype with them and let your kids show them their new room, etc.  When you are at the new location, it will be natural for them to miss what was their home and you will be busy getting things set up at the new house and starting the new job.  Make sure you give them a little extra one-on-one time to talk in the first few weeks.  They’ll need it. Moving is stressful.  If you follow these tips, your decisions and children will handle things a little better and it can become a great adventure!

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