Moving to a new home can be a wonderful and exciting experience for children. However, it may take some strategic preparation and planning.
Long drives, long days, and newness may be the perfect recipe for disaster, chaos, and meltdowns. It’s essential not to blind-side your children or keep them in the dark about the move until the last minute. Prepare them every day leading up to the move and hype it up in an exciting way. As parents, you set the tone for the upcoming move.
Change can be challenging for anyone, but it is especially hard for children. They don’t know how to process information yet and don’t have total control over their emotions. Your careful planning can help them deal with this challenging change and make moving day much more pleasant for the whole family.
Here are 15 tips for Moving with Kids
1. Prepare Earlier Than You Think
Everything that moving entails always takes longer than you think it will, especially with kids. Moving day comes up sooner than you think. Packing, cleaning, and saying goodbyes all take longer than you think. Start packing, cleaning, and organizing as early as possible to avoid added stress on moving day. It’s better to have it done too early than too late. If you are stressed and running behind, your kids will feel stressed about moving too.
2. Put a Plan in Place
Organization is vital when it comes to moving with children. Sit down with your family and formulate a plan for moving day. Go over every detail with them to prepare them and ease their nerves about the unknown. Plan your meals, create packing schedules, plan your drive to the new house – who is riding in which car, and what route are you taking? Think about what you can plan to eliminate on moving day to keep things simpler. Amongst the chaos, the noise, and the hustle-bustle, you’ll thank yourself for having set plans instead of playing it by ear and scrambling to make decisions under stress.
3. Written To-Do Lists
Create written to-do lists and recruit your children to help complete their tasks. This allows you to focus on the more significant issues and helps keep your children focused and in the loop. It’s a win-win for everyone.
4. Have Set Routines
Children thrive on routines and structure and may be especially cranky if they don’t get enough sleep. As hard as it is, it’s essential to stick to your child’s usual routine during the moving process. Stick to regular bedtimes, meal times, wake times, etc. It will help substantially keep hold of some normalcy while so many other things are changing.
5. Make the Most of Kid-Free time.
This one is crucial. When your kids are at school or asleep, put your phone and other distractions away and get to work. The only thing more stressful than packing is packing with children. Be intentional and efficient during the rare times when the kids aren’t around.
6. Color Codes and Labels
When you’re essentially stuffing boxes that look identical to each other, you’re bound to lose track of what items are in which boxes. A color-coded system or a labeling system will be your saving grace. You’ll be so glad you took the time to color code or label your boxes, especially when searching for a treasured toy. Moving companies that pack for you have a system for tracking your belongings. Be sure to ask them about it, so that you can find what you need when you arrive at your new house.
7. Don’t Forget the Overnight Bags
This is a common mistake; forgetting to leave out some essentials so you’re not frantically digging through boxes to find the one blanket that your daughter can’t sleep without. Pack bags with each child’s favorite toys, books, and comfort items so that you know where they are at all times. It may save your sanity.
8. De-Clutter, Donate, and Don’t Look Back
This may be one of the most challenging tips to follow. If you don’t need it, toss it. Moving is an excellent opportunity to declutter and get rid of junk and dust collectors. If you know you won’t miss it, get rid of it. It feels good to purge and declutter.
9. Be Sneaky
Sometimes kids don’t know they care about something until they see you getting rid of it. Be strategic about the times you sort through junk. Do it while kids are out of the house to avoid unnecessary meltdowns over items they haven’t touched in years.
10. Try to Remain Positive
We know it’s hard to stay upbeat during the moving process with so much going on. However, it’s essential to keep a positive attitude for your kids. Kids genuinely pick up on your energy. Your kids may already be experiencing some anxiety. Your attitude can either ease their worries or make them worse.
11. Invest in a Babysitter
Date night during the moving process might consist of sending your kids to a babysitter’s house and losing yourself in bubble wrap and boxes. Or send them to grandma’s house if she lives nearby. Packing is so much easier without little ones. If you don’t have family nearby, the small investment in a babysitter will be worth your while.
12. Involve the Kids
Give your kids a say and make decisions together. This will help them understand the process better and feel they have some control and stability in their environment. It will also help them feel important and know that you care about their involvement and input.
13. Let Your Kids Have a Proper Goodbye
Your kids will likely have a hard time saying goodbye to their home and life. Take pictures of the home to put up in your new house or make a memory book. Let them say proper goodbyes to neighbors and friends. Tell them that you will visit sometime soon and mean it.
14. Give Them Time and Let Them Feel
Adjustments can be hard for children. Try to be understanding with them and help them work through their emotions. Let them feel sad, angry, or confused. Be patient and understanding with them. It might take a lot of time to get used to a new environment and, ultimately, a new life.
15. Reach Out to New Neighbors
Befriending your neighbors from the get-go gives your kids an opportunity to make friends right away. It will also be a win-win because they will have friends to play with while you unpack and deal with your own emotions.
Moving is an adjustment for the whole family. It is an exciting time that also inevitably comes with stress. These 15 tips can help keep the chaos and meltdowns to a minimum. Your little ones need to know you’re aware of their feelings and that you value their input throughout the process.