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Moving: Children

Moving can be difficult for the entire family. It can affect a family financially when one spouse has to leave a job to follow a military member to a new location. Children may find it hard to leave friends behind and start over at a new school.

Many military families look at moving as an adventure, and jump into making connections in the new community. Doing some research before arriving can help smooth the way.

Many military families make decisions about where they will live based on the educational needs of their children. The Military Child Education Coalition has a number of tools for parents to find information about specific schools under its “Education Resources” section at http://www.militarychild.org.

Making connections as soon as possible with your child’s new school, and asking about academic requirements, sports and other tryouts, special testing, and transfer of academic credits, can ease your child’s transition. It’s also important to inform officials at your child’s current school that you’re moving so they can prepare your child’s documents and make other needed preparations.

More civilian schools are becoming attuned to the needs of military children who move from post to post.

Information about helping your family get ready for and adjust to relocation is on the Defense Department’s Web site, http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil. Click on “Troops and Families” to find information ranging from details on installations, to financial preparations, to the Military Teens on the Move program.

There are links to other specific Web sites such as http://www.military student.dod.mil and http://www .militaryspouse.org, which help with numerous relocation issues for children and spouses.

In addition to the Military Child Education Coalition, http://www.military child.org, organizations such as the National Military Family Association, http://www.nmfa.org, can provide information and other resources.