Make Move Easier For Young
Mountains of boxes all over the house can mean only one thing — moving season is in full force across the country. Nearly half of all moves occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Each year, 10.8 million children under age 18 move, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Regardless of the time or destination, moving is often an unsettling experience for children,” says Paula Felbein, of Allied Van Lines. “It’s natural for children to be concerned about leaving their friends and fitting into their new surroundings.”
Here are some tips to help make the transition to a new home easier for children:
* Tell your children about the move as soon as possible.
* Talk to your children about the relocation, sharing the details, encouraging their questions and listening to their thoughts.
* Allow your children to participate in planning the move. Let them pack a few boxes or ask for input regarding the decor of their new rooms.
* Encourage children to exchange addresses and telephone numbers with old friends.
* Provide your kids with a sense of continuity by enrolling them in similar activities, such as scouts, soccer or little league, in the new community.
* Contact teachers and principals at prospective schools to inquire about testing, attendance, special programs, extracurricular activities, etc.
* Be sure to promote the move as an adventure, focusing on opportunities for the entire family.
* Weekday laboring: Monday’s Child is fair of face. Tuesday’s Child is full of grace. According to the National Center for Health Statistics in Washington, D.C., Tuesdays child is also the majority — more children are born on Tuesday than on any other day of the week.
* Memory lapses: My mom calls them senior moments — those times when you suddenly forget someone’s name, what you were going to say or what you went to the store to buy.
People my age say they “spaced it.” Memory lapses can happen at any age. “A better memory takes practice,” says Cynthia Green, author of “Total Memory Workout” ($24, Bantam). Here are some workout tips for your brain:
* Get more sleep. Lack of sleep makes it harder to retrieve information from your long-term memory.
* Get more exercise, increasing oxygen and blood to the brain.
* Get enough to eat and drink enough water. Dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue and interferes with the ability to concentrate. Alcohol consumption has a negative effect on short-term memory. Small amounts of caffeine boost alertness and help you focus. The trick is finding the right amount for you.
* Stop multitasking. Set priorities. The mind can only handling so much information at once.
* Relieve stress. Give your brain a rest while you do a different activity such as painting or reading.
* Say out loud where you put something. “I put my keys in my purse,” for example. Hearing this message will help you remember what you did with your keys.
There are a lot of good suggestions here, now if I just can remember them.