Defence relocation - Army life with toddlers

We’re a fairly new Defence family, we’ve not long been part of the Australian Army, so this posting cycle will be only the second time we’ve moved our family of five into temporary accommodation while we await the green light to move into our new home in our new posting location. 

I literally panicked last time, like nearly hyperventilated, at the thought of keeping three small children safe and entertained in a motel room for multiple weeks. As a brand new Army wife, coming into my first experiences of Defence life: I couldn’t think of anything more arduous than family life in a completely unknown location; in a room that isn’t ours, with furniture that isn’t ours and a distinct lack of children’s playthings!

Thankfully, It had been Christmas the week prior so my children (aged four, two and three months) had plenty of shiny new toys and unopened activities to burn through over the summer. How we were going to fit them in our Outlander, along with: four suitcases, three children, two adults and a partridge in a pear tree - I had no idea. I mentally packed our family car a million and one times, paying particular attention to which of the childrens’ things we couldn’t live without. After all, as Defence mums, our life’s mission is to make Military life as stable as possible for our babies. I didn’t want them to have to go without anything that they deemed to be a creature comfort for them.

Thus we encountered my first mistake: within hours of asking my kids to identify their most special items to come in the car with us, they’d piled dozens of stuffed animals, books galore and every Happy Meal toy they’d ever come into possession of, in a mountain by the door - ready for packing. 

After many conversations [read: negotiations] on what number of personal items was most appropriate to pack for the car (each child had a mini backpack to fill with their most prized possessions), I painstakingly packed and repacked a thirty litre toy box for my three kids.

Image: toddler looking into a large, black toy box

Mistake number two: I kid you not when I say that I didn’t even put this much thought into my hospital labour and delivery bag when I was expecting my babies. I filled this tub to the brim with Christmas gifts ranging from crafts, sticker books, dolls and movies, to noisy baby toys and outdoor play items. Much to my hubby’s disdain, we managed to wedge this box into the middle row of the car (I'm pretty sure the imprints are still in the back of the front row seats) for the most uncomfortable car ride of our lives. 

Image: my three toddlers in their carseats, surrounded by clothing, toys and containers of items to move with

One much too short week later, we arrived at our first Defence nominated motel (we stayed at two in total, as our journey from post to post was a two-leg trip) and settled the children in. Then I thought I’d sit back and enjoy the fruits of my preparation labour as they delighted in all the things I’d thoughtfully packed to keep them entertained. How many times during our first week long motel stay do you think they went into the toddler survival box I’d lovingly prepared? If you think zero - you’d be correct. Zip, nada, zilch. These kids had no interest in their toys, even unopened Christmas presents. They were an intense mixture of exhausted, overwhelmed, anxious and excited and they reveled in cuddles, TV, and time spent in the fresh air together, going for walks and playing at local playgrounds.

As luck would have it, my eldest broke her wrist at a playground on the second day of our second motel stay so we did eventually break open the “everything but the kitchen sink” box, but of all the options I packed - would you believe that the only thing they were interested in was the good old Play-Doh? That’s right, a two dollar plastic tablecloth, a few jars of Play-Doh and some plastic modeling tools kept our two and four year olds entertained for hours. Of course, when they weren’t playing together with the popular dough, they wanted: (you guessed it!) cuddles, TV and time in the fresh air together as a family.

Image: jars of Play-Doh and a container of Play-Doh tools

We were constantly amazed over those two or so weeks at how our children clung to us and each other. They didn’t need a room full of toys to have fun, or even their own beds to feel safe. They were each other’s greatest source of entertainment and we were their source of comfort. 

This posting, we won’t have two toddlers and a baby. We’ll have a big kid and two toddlers and I cannot wait to see what fun they create for themselves now that they are capable of playing just about anything all together. 

I needn’t have panicked about raising three children in an unfamiliar environment for any length of time, because as it turns out: all kids need to feel safe and stable in an ever-changing world, is you … (and maybe some Play-Doh).