Hints and tips for moving with young children
Help is the normal cry of parents who have made the decision to move with young children. Pulling your hair out, not knowing where to start or what to do tends to follow as well. Is that how you feel? Are you moving the family to a new home but not sure how to start the exciting journey? Let’s see if we can help you, here are some tips and advice for the most courageous decision of your life.
First things first, have you chosen the right home for you and your family? Yeah! Brilliant! But if you’re not sure, why not take the kids on a series of visits? It can be a challenge, but it will be worth it in the end. If you decide to do this, be sure to explain to the children what you are doing and why. The best thing to do when making the decision to move is to involve the children from the beginning; this will make the whole process easier as they will be more accepting of the change.
Here are a few steps, in no particular order, that can be helpful to any parent moving home with young children, many of which I’ve learned along the way.
Step 1
As mentioned above, prepare the children; help them understand what is happening and that moving is a good thing. They may not understand the term ‘moving’ depending on their age, so be sure to explain exactly what it means and what impact it will have on them. But make it fun, use pictures of the new house, and describe the adventure you’ll have because of the move.
Step 2
We all hate packing, whether it’s going on vacation, a weekend away, or packing up the whole house; but it’s something kids would love. If your kids are old enough, why not let them help you pack their clothes and toys? They could even decorate the boxes and make them look like little homes for all their toys. It gives them a chance to get involved and makes the chore of fixing up their room a little more enjoyable. Or if you really can’t bear the thought of packing, there is the option of a packing service. But don’t pack up all the toys first, otherwise you’ll have some very boring kids on your hands.
Step 3
To keep the excitement flowing; Why not throw a farewell party? Everyone loves a party, the chance to celebrate over a good drink and a boogie, and it will give the kids a chance to say goodbye to everyone they love. If you’re moving away, it’s even more important for the kids to say goodbye to their friends and it’s a great opportunity for you to say goodbye to yours too, but it also puts a positive spin on everything. Even if you don’t move very far, it gives you the opportunity to have everyone in the same room to celebrate your exciting new adventure.
Stage 4
If you move far away, perhaps even somewhere abroad, there is a chance that you will leave behind not only friends but also close family members. A great way to have fun with the kids and create something for the new home that will remind everyone and everything that happened in your old home is to make a memory board. Children love to do something creative and by making a memory board your children have the opportunity to make something special that will remind you of all the fun times you had in your old home. Use pictures of people you will miss and things you used to do around the house, like making tents in the living room and general fun days. Why not also put objects like a stone or some flower presses from the bottom of the garden? It can be a collection of all the things you will miss, all the things that will remind you of the days you had and all the people who are special to you too; something you can look at every day.
step 5
It can be difficult trying to do anything with young children around, especially packing, so don’t rush. Give your family plenty of time to plan and move into the new home. Make a plan and don’t worry if you don’t follow it, but just keeping it in mind will help. Booking a moving service can take some of the pressure off of you, since after all, packing with kids who are likely to unpack boxes faster than you can pack them, will be a chore unto itself. Keep calm and stay entertained with everything and you’ll be fine.
step 6
Sometimes you can’t decide when you want to move, either a job is waiting for you in a different location and you need to move by a certain time or you simply have to be away from your current home by a certain date. But if you can control when you move, try to pick a time that causes the least disruption to your children. It’s definitely easier said than done when children are involved, but if you’re planning to potty train your child, for example, choosing to wait until after they’ve moved into their new home and letting them familiarize themselves with their new surroundings is a good idea. . If you’re not lucky enough to be able to do this, and potty training has already begun, having plenty of undergarments and extra clothing in case the trip to your new home is a great idea in case you can’t. . find a bathroom in time or your children are too nervous to use a public bathroom.
step 7
Just like going on vacation, your kids will always want to have some of their favorite toys or even a blanket with them. A good idea is to buy a new backpack or bag that can become your special travel bag, especially if you are likely to move again in the next few years. This allows your children to take their toys and special items with them while traveling. It might be an idea to also include some toys for them to play with, such as cards for a clicking game, so they don’t get too bored on their travels. It’s all about making the journey from old to new as exciting as possible.
step 8
If you are using a moving company or moving service, it is important to label everything very clearly. Otherwise, you may be in trouble when you get to your new home and your child wants a particular teddy bear or toy to play with as soon as he arrives. Trust me, the frustration of having to rummage through a million boxes to keep your screaming little one happy, while unpacking everything else, will make moving so stressful you’ll never want to do it again. So, include as many details in the box as possible, even if it’s something silly like a pink ballerina with blonde hair, you’ll thank me later. It’s the same with all your other belongings too. If you arrive at your new home late at night and all you want are a few plates, forks, and glasses to enjoy your first dinner in your new home, you’ll want to know exactly which box you’ve got all of that in.
step 9
When packing up your old house and even unpacking in your new home, you’ll need to find something to entertain the kids with. Yes, they can help you unpack your belongings in your new room, but things like unpacking dishes and kitchen utensils is something your toddler won’t be able to do. A great way to keep them entertained is with the memory card, as mentioned above, a DVD, or even with the help of a babysitter. It gives you the opportunity to pack or unpack without stress. But don’t rush to unpack, unpacking all the boxes as quickly as possible will create chaos and mess, which will stress you and the kids even more. And once you have unpacked everything, keep the empty boxes for as long as possible, children love to play with boxes and make hideouts and forts, so they will have a lot of fun with all the empty boxes they leave behind.
step 10
When your children move home, they may lose the sense of security they had with their old home. One way to help with this and the big change they are about to face is constant reassurance that you will be there. Another thing that will help with this is keeping up with normal family routines. Yes, moving can be a big change and can disrupt the usual day, but keeping your normal routine is the best thing to do. Don’t let packing and unpacking in the new home affect things like bath and bed time or meal and nap time, these are the things that need to stay the same for a smooth transition from old to new.
step 11
One thing is for sure, and the most important piece of advice I can give, is to make it an adventure! Let your kids get involved and do the things they normally wouldn’t, like help you pack and pick out dinner for the day, even if it’s a local take-out pizza. The journey there, play car games like eye spy to keep the excitement going, when you arrive forget about the boxes and go explore the new area. Take them to the park, to the forest, do something with them that you can’t do in the old house. And when it’s time to unpack, make it exciting, let them think about where they want their toys to live and where they want their bed to be. But make sure it feels like home, place the memory board and photos of your loved ones on the mantelpiece, because when they wake up the next morning they need to feel at home.
step 12
enjoy it. After all, you are moving too.
