Research studies have shown that moving home in childhood can have a significant impact on children’s development, not only negatively affecting their social life and schooling but also negatively affecting their cognitive outcomes. Moving home during early and middle childhood has long-term effects on social-emotional outcomes, suggesting that stability is particularly important early in life.
Over-crowded housing leads to poorer self-regulation in young children, but housing mobility can also positively affect children’s lives, even if short-term effects are generally disruptive. The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) research reveals that the quality, location, and affordability of housing directly affect a child’s ability to thrive. Frequent moves take a toll on children’s social-emotional well-being, with each additional move associated with small declines in social skills and emotional and behavioral problems. These deficits can accumulate, leaving multiple movers at greater risk.
Moving takes children out of their comfort zone and has a great impact on their development and behavior. Moving can evoke a range of emotions in children, including sadness, anxiety, excitement, and even a sense of loss. Leaving behind familiar surroundings can cause social development to suffer, and they may become shy around others out of a reluctance to befriend their new peers.
Frequent moves can also increase internalizing behavior scores at age 9 years, with children who moved home frequently being less likely to achieve in their formal key stage one assessments. However, moving home will have close to no negative effect on children under the age of 5, as toddlers have a short attention span. With the right support and care, moving home may have some negative impacts on mental health, but with the right support and care, these impacts can be reduced.
📹 Moving Isn’t Great for Kids
More than once, I’ve considered packing up the family and taking a job in a different city. Each time, my wife and I thought about …
How does movement affect child development?
Children’s learning experiences are influenced by their physical movements and experiences. They learn to understand prepositions, geometry concepts, adjectives, adverbs, action words, descriptive words, and body shapes. This promotes emergent literacy and a love of language. Children also gain a deeper understanding of quantitative concepts and opposites when they act out the lyrics to songs like “Ten in the Bed”. They also develop fascination with scientific concepts like gravity, flotation, evaporation, magnetics, balance, stability, and action and reaction.
Dr. Carla Hannaford, author of Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head, explains that learning by doing creates more neural networks in the brain and throughout the body, making the entire body a tool for learning. Research indicates that physical activity activates the brain more than seatwork, as moderate to vigorous intensity movement feeds oxygen, water, and glucose to the brain, optimizing its performance. This approach helps children develop a love for language and the world around them.
When moving leads to childhood trauma?
A move and family change can be traumatic for a child, leading to feelings of insecurity, isolation, and anger, which can result in depression. Maintaining a child’s current routine can help foster stability. It’s crucial to keep old friendships and make new ones in their new environment. In introverted children, moving can disrupt their ability to form relationships, which can lead to lasting negative effects. Encouraging communication and seeing old friends is also essential.
How does home life affect children?
Learning can take various forms, including direct instruction and observation of everyday life. The family plays a crucial role in a child’s development, as it is their primary social group. Child development occurs physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually during this time. A strong foundation is essential for a building to stand on its own, and it is crucial for a child’s success in relationships, work, health, and personal growth. The family is responsible for shaping a child’s values, skills, socialization, and security during these stages.
Values are essential in society, as they guide a child’s understanding of what is right and wrong. Society’s norms and values function in conjunction with personal values and norms, making the family a vital factor in a child’s development.
How long does it take for a child to adjust to a new house?
The adjustment period for children to move can vary depending on factors like age, temperament, and previous experiences. It may take weeks to several months for children to fully adapt. Parents should remain patient, supportive, and empathetic during this time, celebrating small victories and reassuring their child that it’s normal to feel emotions during the transition. By providing a nurturing environment, parents can help their children navigate the challenges of moving with resilience and confidence.
How does moving impact a child?
Research on the effects of moving on children is complex, but studies have found conclusive results. Stress from repeated transitions can undermine a child’s sense of control over their life, leading to mental health issues and emotional, social, and academic deficits. Children may also experience learned helplessness, which can negatively impact future decision-making.
One study found that moving two or more times before the age of two was associated with increased internalizing behavior problems in children at age nine. This behavior, characterized by withdrawal or depression, resulted in negative mental health outcomes for the child during adolescence. Researchers hypothesize that the first two years of a child’s life are particularly sensitive to residential mobility.
In the short term, moving frequently can cause children to have increased behavioral and academic problems. However, a group of researchers evaluated 7, 108 adults and found that those who frequently moved as a child were more likely to report lower life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and quality social relationships during adulthood. Introverts and those with neuroticism fared worse when moving repeatedly, as they tend to have difficulty forming new relationships and managing stressful situations.
How does home environment affect child development?
Child development is a crucial aspect of a child’s growth, learning, and exploration, and a healthy, safe environment is essential for this growth. Research shows that a poor family environment during a child’s early years can lead to developmental delays. Environmental factors affecting child development are not independent of individual factors like family and mental capacity. To ensure an enabling environment for your child, it is essential to identify these factors and follow expert advice and scientific methods. Understanding child development is crucial for preventing developmental delays and promoting a healthy and safe environment for a child’s growth.
How does relocation affect families?
Children moving to a new country often face significant challenges, including feelings of resentment, cultural adjustment, and practical aspects such as adjusting to different education systems, teaching methods, curriculum, and academic expectations. These challenges can lead to feelings of confusion, disorientation, and isolation, especially for teenagers who may be more sensitive to social pressures and expectations from their peers.
Parents can also help their children through this transition by being aware of the struggles they may face and offering an open line of communication. By discussing the culture of the new country, language, schooling options, and extracurricular activities, parents can help ease the transition and gain more excitement than fear. Regular communication and planning regular visits can further help maintain relationships with family and friends, making it easier for them to adjust to their new environment.
In conclusion, children moving to a new country face numerous challenges, including feelings of resentment, cultural adjustment, practical aspects, and conflict between their previous identity and new sense of belonging. Parents should be aware of these struggles and provide support through open communication, regular visits, and regular support. By understanding and addressing these challenges, parents can help their children navigate the challenges and find a sense of belonging and connection in their new environment.
How do I help my child cope with moving house?
To prepare kids for a big move, involve them in the process, validate their feelings, introduce them to the new home, help them say goodbye to their favorite people and places, and involve them in moving decisions. Create a “go with me” box and share the “where”, “when”, and “what” of the move. Be realistic about what will change and stay the same, but stick to what you know for sure and be specific, such as how their bedtime routine will be the same at the new house.
Does relocation cause trauma?
Transfer trauma or relocation stress syndrome (RSS) is a physiological and psychosocial disturbance resulting from the transfer from one environment to another. It is a significant issue for nursing home residents, particularly those with cognitive or mental health issues and reduced physical function who rely on their care. The deleterious effects of transfer trauma have been recognized since the 1970s, with legal cases stating that the transfer of geriatric patients to unfamiliar surroundings increases the rate of mortality and morbidity. This syndrome is particularly vulnerable for those who are dependent on their care and have cognitive or mental health issues.
How does home environment affect personality development?
The formation of personality patterns is significantly shaped by the experiences encountered within the familial environment. During their developmental years, children internalize the potentialities inherent within their family and subsequently manifest attitudes, beliefs, ideals, and behaviors that are reflective of the influences exerted upon them by their home environment.
How does moving abroad affect a child?
Expat Child Syndrome significantly impacts teenagers and young adults who grow up in foreign countries, leading to feelings of isolation, disorientation, and a lack of identity. These challenges can lead to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Yes We Can Youth Clinics is helping expats overcome these issues by providing treatment for mental health issues and substance abuse. Over the last five years, there has been a significant increase in the number of expat teenagers and young adults seeking treatment for mental health issues and substance abuse.
Many of these young adults struggle with feelings of disconnection and alienation, as they navigate life in a foreign country while reconciling their cultural heritage with the norms and values of their adopted country.
📹 Does moving house affect your childhood?
In this video I’ll be discussing how moving house can affect different people- what effects does moving houses have on children?
I went to 6 different elementary schools, two middle schools and four high schools, each completely disconnected from the other, and all from moving. my family never really had any issues and i always have felt close and comfortable with them: Looking back now, with each new school I made less friends, and felt more lonely and detached. By the time I reached my junior year I couldn’t even deal with the emotional strain of being around what effectively was a mass of strangers, so I went to a home school for my final year. sorry for the lame sob story but please keep your children in mind when thinking about moving: it can so easily put a harsh strain on their social aptitude
You could just look at military kids for more data. I was raised in an Air Force family, and I confess the best move I ever made, socially speaking, was when I left for Germany and when to a school on the base. Everyone there knew what it was like to have to move so much, so they were quick to accept newcomers.
I never moved as a child (thank God) but I did have a close friend who killed himself all because of being forced to switch schools and move allot as a child. He grew up to be a very confused and very angry chap who had depression ever since he was 20. May he rest in peace. Anyone who thinks that moving during childhood isn’t a big deal should never have kids for the kid’s sake. They are not adults, they are still teens who are not mature enough to have kids as well as not ready to have kids.
I’ve moved across the country 7 times, going on 8 from when I was 3 to 14. My family moved constantly because of my sister’s career in ballet and how we were in constant debt. After the first couple of moves, I started feeling antisocial, lonely, and constantly anxious. my mom’s substance abuse, constant guilt-tripping, and a bunch of other random personal issues didn’t help the situation. When I turned 13 my parents sent me off to california by myself to stay at my grandpa’s house for financial reasons and like when you move somewhere new its hard to meet people but when you’re sent off by yourself and all you have is staying inside a single room and all you have to occupy yourself is your homeschool and no social connection it gets depressing really quick. Thankfully now I have some people on discord that are cool. Anyways I don’t want to run a pity party lmao, just needed to vent in a youtube comment.
Born in Los Angeles, moved to Hawaii, Back to LA, then Utah, then to the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific, then back to California, then to Florida, then back to Hawaii, Now back in Florida. I hated moving with a passion so much as a youth, that now in my late 30s I really can’t find the motivation to finish anything. Stability and Foundation is paramount in the successful upbringing of children, IMO. I used to Love Baseball but was never treated well by teams of boys that grew up with each other. I was always the new kid, no matter where I was. To this day I resent my folks for never really giving me the opportunity to grow. I had to be the one be to make sure my little brother had his head on right, and taught him right from wrong. I’m so happy how strong of a man he is today, but damn I wish I could’ve just been a kid.
I was moved many times. I was raised by a father from Cali and mother from NY. I was born in Cali and by the age of 3 we moved to NY. We then moved around the state of NY. At the age of 14 my parents thought it would be a good idea to move back to Cali. First year of high school knowing nobody was just great! At 16 my parents moved us back to NY. Moving is an adventure, but it does damage. This article confirms what my siblings and I have thought for years.
With my dad in in the military, throughout my childhood, I moved very frequently. As a 17-year-old now, I’ve lived in 5 different places, as well as two places on two non-consecutive occasions. In fact, I’ve only lived somewhere for more than 2 years twice, and it was the same place on two non-consecutive occasions, and it was the place I was born. I lived there for 6 years, but half of those years don’t really count, because I was a little kid and didn’t know what was going on. As a kid, my social life was never perfect due to the frequent moving, but when I was 12 in 2019, we moved overseas, and while it was cool to see and experience a different country, it was at an enormous expense. I felt very far from home, and my social life was very compromised. Even with COVID, I still feel it could have been better. Looking back at my childhood, I will say it was cool to see so many places, but I feel the expense it had on my social life was not very good, because I have lost so many friends that way, and I have troble finding a place to call home.
i moved 3 years ago and i am still so unhappy still crying every night. tried therapy everything you can imagine because of the “fact” i couldn’t accept the fact that i moved. it wasn’t the fact that i moved i had troubles with it was the fact i had no life here no happiness no single reason to be happy. my parents took that away from me. DON’T DO IT PARENTS
I have moved 8 times already, and have been in 4 different elementary schools and 2 different middle schools (I am in middle school right now). Most of the time I can adjust easily, except when it comes to schools and their education system. For example, if you are living in a place with a good education system and you move to a place with a not-so-great education system, you will be way ahead education-wise when compared to the place with the bad education system. Or, if it is vice versa, you will notice at first that the other students in the good education system will be ahead of you by a lot. I find this especially hard, because of the teaching and grade expectation differences.
Imagine a childhood where you’re so unimportant that you don’t even deserve to have a home or even a life? it really gets to you and makes you feel less than a person. Like you don’t even belong anywhere. Imagine the whole world or whole country being your home instead of just a village, town or city? sounds like a very messy and upsetting childhood if you ask most people. This study about frequent moving during childhood causing suicide and depression is also not new. It has been around for many years.
I moved to over 15 different living arrangements until 18, and a handful different schools, in different countries for some of them. I never had one living arrangement up until the age of 18 last more than 5 years. I had many gaps throughout my schooling and left with almost no qualifications. I had no siblings and was raised by a single mother with mental health issues. As an adult, I have no friends, most of my time has been spent indoors (which is not my natural inclination). I think I’ve learned that Isolation and articles games were a way to cope with an ever-changing environment that I had little connection to and almost no control over; it kind of works for a decade when you are a child, but not much longer. This is anecdotal evidence of course, but I can attest that moving a lot as a child has negatively impacted my life. I would recommend parents not do that, and if you must for some reason, at least be a two parent home with siblings; it gives you some normality and commonality to bounce off of at least.
I moved a few times as a child and didn’t particularly mind. Our last big move – from Massachusetts to North Carolina when I was 10 – was actually great. Our SES improved, I went to better schools, we lived in safer neighborhood, people were nicer, and the weather was much better. This is merely anecdotal, but I’m extremely thankful for that move.
Raised in Saudi Arabia for 7 years, then moved to Ohio for elementary school for 2 years, then Arkansas for elementary and middle school where I went to 2 different elementary schools in 5th grade. Finished middle school in Arkansas then moved to Massachusetts for high school. Now my family is moving to New York as I am about to be a sophomore in college and I have to decide if I start over again at a new college and be with my family at my hopefully new permenant state, or stay at my college and have no friends at my new state when I eventually move there to be with family in the future. It’s been hard. Really really hard. I still suffer the effects of it to this day. I feel as if I don’t have meaningful connections with others or any form of stability.
I was born in Baltimore, Maryland in Spring 1997 and I moved to Durham, NC in early June 1997 6 weeks after I was born and I moved to a very small town in Arizona a couple weeks after my 10th birthday and I moved here to Florida in late Summer 2009 when I was 12 & I did move schools a lot too I knew moving a lot as a child can cause a lot of problems later in life. When I have kids someday, they will be born & raised in the city they were born in.
@Shazy Hooni I feel you, unlike you I have been to 4 elementary schools and 2 middle schools(im only 13 right now) This year I tried to give up making friends but my mom refused to let me give up. In the resort of all the moving I have tried to kill myself and I have cut myself. I do this because I want a restart in life where I stay in ONE place. My parents say we won’t move again, they said that 3 schools ago, and life has been tuff. I always wish I was my brother and sister because when they were little they NEVER MOVED and they turned out so happy unlike me. I am sad and feel alone trying to “act happy” at school everyday which is getting harder as the days go on 🙁
I think another important note to add is that the studies mentioned in this article focused only on children who moved within a single country. How do moves affect kids who have move across the globe and into different cultures as well as different schools? In other words, I think an episode on the psychological effects of being a Third Culture Kid would interesting.
Thank you for explaining the last 7 and a half years of my life. I come from a healthy family so after I changed after the move everyone assumed I was being immature but I always felt “this is not my town, this is not my home, and I don’t have anyone who truly knows me” I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression (confirmed by doctors) ever since
I moved from Wales to Sydney, Australia when I was 7, then to Queensland when I was 9. Looking back I found that I didn’t form any proper social roots until I was 13, when I finally settled into high school and stayed there for the duration. I was very withdrawn and solitary, but my marks in school greatly improved because I was so isolated that reading, writing and schoolwork became more important to me. It’s interesting to compare it to the life I might have lead back in the UK. I still have strong social and cultural bonds in Wales, but Australia feels like home now too. On the other hand, my little sister was 4 years old when we moved to Australia, and settled a lot more easily into Australian life, but has a lot less connection to our Welsh culture, which is hard for her to internalise and grow with as an adolescent. I know it’s near impossible, but it would be so interesting to see the effects on moving to different countries for children and teenagers. From a firsthand experience, it’s disruptive but also carries a lot of social benefits too.
I’ve grown up with attachment disorder because of my mothers death, when I was 16 my step mother moved us to a different province and I found it very hard to maintain my old relationships, and after I had mostly moved on and accepted my new life, she moved us again not even a year later. I barely hear from my friends and now I don’t want to make bonds with others in fear of them being broken on someone else’s whims, I feel very neglected emotionally.
Jesus my family has moved a lot. I don’t think we’ve ever stayed anywhere longer then 2 years(most of the time we’ve only lived there for maybe 1 and a half?) Anyway most of thins has been mainly due to money issues and while it sucks I’ve sadly gotten used to the whole process. Just to give you an idea, i’m currently 14 and I’ve moved school over 20 times… in terms of houses and all the different places probably even more. It has been messy moving to some places and others i really wish my family could have stayed there but, i have gotten over it and thing could be a hell of a lot worse had we not moved so often and i probably wouldn’t be as mentally strong as i am now! For anyone dealing with a move my advice is just be confident. Even if you feel like a absolute mess, like you might have a break down hold your head high and force yourself to talk to someone who seems interesting, nice or even have the same hobby as you. I have wanted to melt trying to talk to people and make friends but if i hadn’t ever approached them i would be pretty lonely(and at one point i was). Anyway good luck to all who have to deal with moving and i hope everything will turn out alright!
I moved all over and there and each time we moved the color of life faded away more and more. And then my dad died and life lost all meaning. There is something about building attachements and emotional connections with places when you are very young but cant grow that connection when your older. Or maybe its the ideation that my life was perfect then, which i remembered thinking repeatedly. I only lived there one year but i never felt more at home.
It began when I was a child. (I can’t remember a specific age) it’s that bad I never had a no significant other because of it I had to say goodbye far many times because it I had sacrifice far too many belongings because of it I had to stay in countless hotels, stayed in shelters with weirdos and bratty children. I had carry heavy luggage countless times. My mom polluted me with empty promises and rational bs & half baked ideas. Even now I’m in my twenties and we are moving AGAIN I have no job, no friends, no true life, no potential, no dreams, no nothing. This satanic moving every 5 min ruined my life. I wish I was put up for adoption and adopted by a rich couple. My mom should should’ve just faced it there’s no way to raise two children with a low income life style without suffering gymnastics or developing Stockholm syndrome to an invisible emperor man from outer space. Planned parenthood could’ve been my salvation.
I’m 32 this year and still haven’t matched in years the number of moves since I was born. Went to over a dozen schools between 2 different countries back and forth. My husband was in the same home for his first 17 years. I cannot imagine yet desperately wish I could have had his childhood experience. I now belong nowhere and don’t feel at home anywhere. I have no friends aside from my spouse.
I’ve always felt like I was a lot more outgoing and made friends easier before my family moved — during Christmas break right in the middle of 5th grade — than after. I was well into high school before I made any new, real friends, and in some ways, I never really recovered socially. Of course, I’ve got the autism, and it might have just been part of that time of life, but this rings true, personally. (Also, because of differences in when the two school districts started students on band, I never got to learn an instrument.)
As someone who had to switch school districts at age 12, I have to say that it was extremely difficult. I didn’t make friends until I got to high school two years later. Once or twice I tried to keep track how long it took before I said anything during a school day; it broke at lunch time because the lunch ladies wanted verbal responses when they asked whether I wanted a particular food item. I was miserable and I frequently thought about suicide.
I was perusal the movie Inside Out, and I realized that being a military brat, we moved when I turned 7. And have moved quite a few times since until I reached high school… I feel like moving was good at first, because sometimes I screwed things up as a kid and moving gave me a fresh new start, but at the same time I didn’t have any close connections, I had to start over which was tough because a lot of people already have history, and my family was separated living in a different state. So it feels very lonely. Plus, we went from the east to the west cities, and I feel like cities are very cold and isolating.
Between the ages of 8-18 or so my family had moved about 10 times. I had to go back and check for that just now, not counting smaller ‘moves’ but actual great geographic shifts in where i lived. For me personally it had its ups and downs regarding my own situation but it is something I wouldn’t do to my kids. I’d want 1-2 places we could afford to live in and have that be that.
I think how isolated you are depends on where you’re moving to and where you’re moving from. I moved from a trailer in rural New York to the Oklahoma suburbs. Everyone at my school were complete snobs who thought they were better than me. I had zero friends and got bullied immediately. It’s not that bad anymore, but the loneliness is still very alive. Even to this, I have no sense of self.
I moved to my current province when I was 7 years old and started elementary school. It was hard and I didn’t make many friends, due to anxiety, depression and at the time they thought was high functioning autism. Then at age 12 just 1 year into highschool I manged to turn it all around made a group of friends finally knew how it felt to go to someone house after school and play games ect. Then parents moved again over boundaries but it was the same distance to either or highschool. I stayed in the same school because I fault for it and my sister was in her last year there so my parents though it would be not so bad. After my sister graduation they made me change schools without even looking into the school my needed the only factor being they would not have to drive me in or pick me up because a bus driver would do that. The school was a lot more underfunded, I got average grades, and there was no opportunity for after school play/recreation because if I missed my bus at 3:15 I would not go home it was a hour and a half bus ride there and back each day it was horrible. After falling into depression and being trapped either at school on a bus or at home with no public transit and just miles of forest between me and my old friends and any new ones I briefly made it was one of the worst points in my life. To this day I wished I had stayed where we where even if it was not the perfect situation, or at the very lest moved somewhere where I could have the ability to learn and grow and not be stuck on forest farm land trapped by miles of roads and trees with no way to get out till I was a adult and moved away from it all.
I think the moving is clearly hard on kids, but efforts to try to calculate it’s effects are very changing. What cause the move might be a larger factor then the move it’s self. Divorce or the lose of a job that cause a family to move for finical reasons would be two reasons for moving that would negatively kids. It would be interesting if that took into account divorces and trends in family income around the time of the move. My big question would be, what are the effects on kids when they are moved to increase income? An increase in income should, generally, have a positive impact on children, so how does that compare with the negative effects moving a child?
I was in 8 different schools before I was in grade five, and at least 10 houses then before I stopped counting. I feel like it’s fucked me up on a personal level- I avoid drugs/ violence/ etc as a rule because I understand such things as Very Bad and maybe being autistic helps follow that “rule” lol (though drugs can be tempting at times when I feel overwhelmed). But I do get angry and invalidate my emotions and lack a sense of identity and don’t understand when something isn’t my fault and don’t understand that things don’t need to be drastic if they change and I don’t know how to feel like I am myself. I got depressed. I was already depressed because of other various reasons- but I really became a shell lost in it’s own darkness. I didn’t think love was real even on a platonic level. I couldn’t take care of myself at all beyond getting really low effort things to feed myself like bread or cereal. I lost the motivation to go outside and interact with others. I started to completely isolate myself on purpose in school. I could not care about my grades. I felt too tired to go to school all the time regardless of my sleep. I actually did harm myself- but in non-traditional ways because I thought that would somehow mean I could get passed the rule in my head. And I wanted to desperately to have one thing to control- one thing that wasn’t changing all the time- I thought maybe I could control myself. But I couldn’t. I have lived in a state of not knowing who I am in truth- since I was in grade five and was finally promised I wouldn’t have to move (schools) anymore- I had already stopped knowing who I am.
When your young its scary but everything is… When you get older its exciting, always learning new places, people, ways of doing things, cultures. Being young you want to fit in not stand out. I couldnt imagine being born and raised in the same spot, i really feel sorry for people who havent really experienced different life styles…
Moving is never unavoidable. Especially when your children are teenagers. You can always rely on friends or family who live close by to be guardians for your kids if you have to move. All they have to do is want to or make a deal with them. That way your kids never have to move with you if you really have to move.
5 elementary schools if you included the time I was home schooled (started public school in 2nd grade)1 middle school. 2 high schools (though not due to a move) Plus moved 1-3 times before I was old enough to start school….I don’t think I had most of the problems listed. But I will say add being an introvert to all that and trying to form and keep friends is a nightmare. I don’t Have any friends I talk to even simi regularly from grade school. (also this was all because my dad was a teacher and couldn’t get tenure…)
My mom would think that this is a huge lie and I have autism and my mom gives me less and less love each day and I moved from Merritt to Nanaimo away from friends and family I don’t know any one on this island letelong in Nanaimo and every day I think more and more about committing suicide I need some help my mom won’t help me she doesn’t understand that I need love not pills because all she does is makes me take more pills and I have been going through depression for two years now and my mom doesn’t believe me and through those years I only had my friends to help please can you give me some advice so I don’t commit suicide
As a child who has moved more than twenty times in my life time, I can understand how moving can be difficult for children. This article shows many of the comparisons that were found between a move and a child’s live and help. He points out that there could be many different reasons why a family decides to move a child from a school district, whether it be because of an outside reason or because of the child themselves. Regardless of why the move occurred, such moves resulted in disastrous impacts on the child’s life. He pointed out how the children that had more than on residential move increased both the potential for attempted suicide, and violent offenses to occur in the older life. Although this is proven data, I do not believe that such moves can have an entirely bad effect on the child. Speaking for myself, I have chosen to take my many moves as an opportunity to explore many different places and break out of my comfort zone to make new friends. I believe that although many moves can have negative impacts on a child’s life, they can increase the opportunities that a child has throughout their life.
Moving helped me tremendously. I was living in an area where I was bullied for being small and the teachers just assumed I was too dumb to do well in school and tracked me to lower level classes, instead of handling the bullies. When I moved my average grades went from low Cs to low As. Now I have a PhD in physics. The argument of social ties at the end assumes that social ties are always positive, which is really not the case. If anything the dependence it causes results in a lack of individual performance. Treating assumptions like these with a significant regard is part of the reason psychology in terms of the mind and ego has major flaws. I could agree with moving very frequently could cause too much instability for a child to succeed. A child cannot evolve if it never has time to adapt. So army kids could be affected by this. But breaking a child away from a social niche once or twice could be beneficial. Thus the moving as a sign of family instability, especially in europe where being mobile is discourage, is the likely connection. I bet if you isolated the unstable families out, you would find a net benefit for a small number of moves.
I tend to disagree with this idea. From age 7-18 my family moved every 2 yrs. My father was moving up the corporate ladder. To this day I have lived in 11 states. I believe this turned me into a very well rounded and adapted person. I learned early to socially integrate in new communities and also develop my own ideas. This helped me act on my thoughts and follow my dreams. Now in my 30s Im happy, healthy and proud with how I grew up.
Interesting and worth thinking about but a few serious caveats needed. Correlation does not equal causation and the factors going into a move as well as supports and individual factors that can impact changes in circumstances are going to mean there is some serious need for a multi-factor regression analysis to reach the most likely causal links. Enough here for follow up studies, but not enough for panic. Yes, moving will impact a child. Common sense. How much and if positive or negative is going to depend on a whole host of factors. Just one more thing to consider.
I would be REALLY interested to see the data from the military on military kids (if there is any). I’m a military kid myself and moved 10 times before I turned 20. While I do think it benefited me (made me more adaptable, independent, more capable of dealing with stressful situations etc), I have seen a trend of military kids developing Bi-polar disorder, anxiety, depression and Borderline Personality Disorder (a big increase in the latter since the war and increase in deployments especially). Unfortunately, the military seems to be responding by taking away resources from these kids instead of providing them.
Not to boast but I’ve moved 17 times in my 18 years 17 years of life. Its been rough. Making friends was a struggle at first but as I got more accustomed to moving everything got easier. Sadly what got too easy was leaving friends from all over this country and forgetting them. Too me my greatest struggle is trying to keep friends and not totally cut my self off from everyone.
I moved between 4 different countries as a teenager, so identify as a third culture kid, but I really feel how well you do has a lot to do with your resilience. For sure some children I’m sure find it difficult, and I did at times, but I was lucky enough to have a supportive family and learn to enjoy my own company. I believe moving has made me into a more empathetic, confident and independent person; one just needs the right supports when moving in order to make the most out of the experience.
To toot my own horn, I have just published research consistent with these results, but from Canada (a better analogue for the US). We used a larger age range, and only violent assaults and attempted suicides: injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2016/05/08/injuryprev-2015-041932.abstract The effect size is small, but measurable, and probably underestimated for technical reasons discussed in the paper.
Except that ‘caveat’ is not small. This is an observational study. Hence, any causational conclusions are 100% invalid.All this is useful for is demographic information for some policy making if at all. If anything, this was an entire waste of resources because we could just use common sense or philosophy to make a decision on an individual basis with better logic.
this is an important topic. I’ve had emotional and mental problems, addictions, low self esteem, attention issues and difficulties connecting all my life, and I’ve never been able to form a healthy relationship or family. I’m 100% sure it’s because of moving my entire childhood, from one country to another, because of my father’s job, being bullied, never belonging or fitting in, and not having an extended family or family friends to learn from or give me emotional support. Children may look like they are bouncing back, but mental health and social issues can arise later.
My wife and i was only talking about this last week.. My wife lived in the same house and same school all her life till i wisked her away from a small rural town withher approval. I had no mum and traveled the country with my father because of his work. After counting, 12 different schools, living as many houses and sometimess cars for weeks. I left my loving father to make my own life at the age of 17..soon as i got my car license.. I didn’t like changing schools and there was never really a home but dont think it had a negative effect on my life.. I would have preferred to have a mum, dad and a stable life but that wasn’t what was to be. I became successful in life, married since 1982 to my girlfriend i met at 16… We all seemed to be more mature back then.. Take care everyone !
Myself and my partner have been able to renting for the last 5 years, we moved to a nice area while she was between 4-6 then we got an opportunity to live near family for the last two years. Now we finally saved up enough to buy a house but we could only afford an hour and 20 minutes away. Like that it will be my daughter’s third time. She is 7. I am anxious putting her through this again but i promised this would be the last time.