DD “A Tips For Helping Kids Cope With Moving (NAPSA)—Whether you are buying a new homeorrelocating Children can sense when a parent is upset, which can trigger or heighten anxiety within. Stick to routines. Whether to a new apartment, moving can be stressful. If your family move includes children, they too may experience some anxiety. Consider these tips for parents to help ease children into new homes. Tell your child about the move as early as possible. Listen to your child’s feelings and let the child take part in decisions such as care for plants and pets or selections for a pre-move garage sale or charity donation of items you don’t plan to move. * Call the principal of your child’s new school ahead of time so your child can meet his or her teachers. This is especially critical for children who are moving during the school year. Ask about sports, Scouts and other activities your child can join. Some schools will even providea list of students who live near your new home to encouragenew friendships. Throw a Bon Voyage party for your child to say goodbye to neighborhood friends. Take pictures of the old house and of neighbors, relatives and friends for a photo album keepsake. Pass around an autograph book and videotape the party to chase away any feelings of loneliness once you've settled into the new home. Encourage an older child to exchange phone numbers and addresses with friends and relatives to put in his or her very own address book. Then your child can pick out his or her favorite stationery to keep in touch. Let your child create his or her own moving announcement to mail or email friends. Give the child a special you are traveling across town or memento of this major event in his or her life. At participating Budget Car and Truck Rentallocations and at www.budget.com, parents can purchase a blue Budget toy truck that is a replica of the very same truck the family can rent for the move. Thetrucks feature humorous stick figure illustrations that highlight different moving tips such as “Don’t pack dog and cat in samebox.” Give your child a sense of control during the move. Suggest your child decorate the moving boxes designated for his or her room with crayons, markers, stickers or ribbon. Pack a special moving bag for your child with essentials such as stuffed animals, blankets, tapes, and books. Encourage an older child to have fun packing his or her own bag or moving boxes. Unpack your child’s roomfirst to bring back somesense of familiarity. Let the child have a say in where furniture should be placed or pick out new furnishings. Keep your stress level in check and take time to laugh. across the country, try to keep meals and nap times as normal. Aska friendorrelative to play with smaller kids while you’re busy carrying your belongings to and from the moving truck. You can also get somehelp by taking advantage of Budget’s Load/Unload service, where professional movers can help you move in and/or out of your home at half the cost of a van line service. This will give you more quality time to spend with your kids and take care of last-minute tasks and goodbyes. Make moving an adventure. Draw a treasure map of the new house and have an “X” mark the spot of the child’s new room. If possible, hide a surprise in the room. The child can explore the new home while searching for his or her room and/or treasure. Save some of the larger moving boxes. Kids will love to build forts and play games in them once you've unpacked. Research your new community and check out local attractions online. Stroll around the new neighborhood and introduce yourself and your child to the parents and kids in the area. Families looking for general tips on packing and moving can check out Budget’s Mover’s Guide at www.budget.com, where they can also find the latest deals on local and one-waytruck rentals. Budget is the world’s third largest car and truck rental system, and operates an averagefleet of 35,000 trucks.
