How to Help Your Teen During a Move - Part 1

It’s been said that moving is the third most stressful life event, behind death and divorce.That’s quite a powerful statement!So imagine how a teen, who’s already on an emotional rollercoaster, will possibly feel at the thought of moving on from friends and home.Helping your teen navigate through these tough emotions can be tricky, but it can also be life-changing in a good way, for all.Here are ways to help your teen:

• Explain everything and let your teen know that you want their opinion on the next home. The more your teen knows about the move, the less anxious she’ll be.
• Spend some time with your teen by going online and learning about your new location. Find out if there are favorite places like batting cages, ice cream shops, movies, anything that sparks her interest.
• If you can, visit your teen’s new school so she can get excited about an active drama club, a winning volleyball team, anything to connect her to her new school. And while she’s seeing what the other teens wear, you can talk to the principal about getting her into the right learning level and hearing about graduation requirements, so that there are no surprises later.
• Who knows? You may be moving to a state that allows younger teens into driver’s ed…
• Is your teen savvy online? Ask her to help look for houses on Trulia and Zillow. She may only show you the ones with pools, but that’s okay. Getting your teen interested in the move process will be valuable. It’s a great skill to learn at an early age!
• The spring and fall markets are usually the best time to buy and sell real estate, but keep in mind that moving mid-school year might be a challenge. Allowing her to finish the school year would be a better plan.
• Sure, moves are tough on teens in particular, but not every teen will be upset. Some will welcome a change!