Trying to stay put

We are about to move homes. Although my husband and I have moved lots of times together (we're experts at purging and packing), I've recently realized that this is the third time we've moved since having our son.

The first move, my son was 10-months-old so he doesn't remember it. The second move, he has some memories of, but they are vague. For this third move, he is really excited.

I think part of his excitement stems from us trying to involve him as much as possible in the process: He's visited potential homes with us, and he has been asked his thoughts about paint colors for his room (he chose black...which we had to talk him out of, but he was still asked). Even better: We are moving to a location which doesn't require him to change schools.

If all goes well, we'll be in the new house for a long time. This is great news for my family because moving is a pain (even for us "experts") and because there are lots of stresses associated with moving for children. Children who move frequently are often plagued with social problems, negative behaviors, and declines in reading and math scores - even if the move is to a better area. Interestingly, the study only followed kindergartners through eighth graders. (Maybe after that age, moves don't matter as much because children are in high school and have bigger stresses to deal with.)

That puts a lot of pressure on parents to stay put and consider delaying moving until it works for everybody.

What's your worst moving story? Tell me all the terrible details in the comments.