Stability at home for Toddlers Versus "The Best School"

A friend was telling me yesterday about his brother and sister-in-law and their plans to move house in order to get into the "catchment area" of a better school. In the UK that is quite a common thing. Because most children go to State-Funded schools, and some schools have a better track record than others, parents often move house deliberately so as to be in the vicinity, or "catchment area" of a good school so that their children have a better chance of being selected to have a place at that school.

I can't help feeling that this is often done with the best of intentions but that the priorities of the parents may sometimes be wrong.

As someone who had very little security as a child, I am very interested in how security versus upheaval affects children. From what I have learned from psychology, both from my own reading and from my friend, who is training as a counsellor, the effect on children of a house move can be quite traumatic. This is especially true for very small children, aged 1-5. During this period, toddlers are exploring the world around them - everything is so big and new - and a secure base that they can feel safe in is of crucial importance.

Security and same-ness are vitally important for all children, and especially for tiny children. Maybe this is an area that we should consider in more depth and provide some educative articles on the KidsGoals website?

JMHO.

Happy parenting,

Cassie