Moving to a new community may be one of the most stressful experiences a family faces. Frequent moves or even a single move can be especially hard on a youngster, and this stress occurs even when there are siblings.
Moves interrupt friendships.
To a child at a new school, it may at first seem that everyone else has a best friend or is securely involved in a clique. The child must get used to a different curriculum. The child may find that he or she is ahead in certain subjects and behind in others, causing boredom and anxiety. Children in kindergarten or first grade may be particularly vulnerable to a family move because developmentally they are just in the process of separating from their parents and adjusting to new authority figures and peer groups. The relocation can interfere with the normal process of separation by causing them to return to a more dependent relationship with their parents.