Follow These Tips to Take the Stress Out of Moving with Kids
If you and your family are about to move across town or across the country, you’ll face a few challenges. Moving with children can be stressful, so plan ahead, prepare your children for the change, and make sure you have a smooth move.
Finding Your New Home
When you’re looking for your new home, research neighborhoods and find an area close to a great school. Location is usually more important than the home itself. If you’re torn between your dream home that’s far away from the school you want your children to attend or an ok home in a great area, always choose the location. You can renovate the home and turn it into your dream house, but there’s nothing you can do about that 25-minute drive.
When to Move
If your children aren’t school-aged, the best time to move is mid-week and mid-month during the school year. Fewer people move during the fall and winter, and most people choose to move toward the end of the month. Additionally, being flexible with your moving time will help you save on moving costs, as well as help you have a stress-free move.
Preparing Your Children for the Move
When you’re planning to move, make sure you prepare your little ones and give them as much information as possible. Just like adults, they need time to process this major change in their lives. Answer all their questions and explain that when you’re packing the home, you’re preparing for the move, not throwing things away. Involve your children in the planning and make them feel like participants in the house-hunting process so they won’t feel helpless.
Packing with Children
Packing with kids can be a struggle, and while you’re packing, they’ll be trying to take a few things out of the box. Ask for help with childcare, and get family and friends to play with your children in another part of the house so you can focus on packing. If possible, try to pack most of their toys when they’re asleep or outside the house, but leave one box of toys unpacked until the very last day so they’ll have something to play with. Clearly label all the boxes — either with colored tape or a marker — so you’ll know which boxes contain toys, dishes, or bedroom items. When unpacking you’ll be able to easily find what you need.
Keeping Everyone Happy
You and your children may be feeling overwhelmed. They’ve never moved before, and they don’t want to say goodbye to their home or their friends. Change is hard for your little ones, so keep everyone happy by planning a few surprises through the process, like a new toy or dinner at your family’s favorite restaurant. When moving with kids, stick to routines and keep mealtimes and bedtimes consistent. Whether you’re packing up your old home or unpacking your new home, your children will have a happier transition if their routines don’t change.
Moving Day with Children
On moving day, your children will be understandably stressed as they say goodbye to the only home they may have ever known. Moving is disorienting and chaotic on the best of days, and your children need you to be their rock. If you’re trying to do everything yourself, including packing up the truck, driving across town, and unloading all your boxes, you won’t have time to support your kids. Hiring professional budget-friendly movers can help you with this process, and while they focus on moving your belongings, you can focus on your children.
Take the time to say goodbye to your old home, and let your children go back in one last time after everything has been loaded. This can help bring more closure for you and your children and make it easier to embrace the new home.
Children love familiarity and routine, so a move can be very stressful. If you’ve found your dream home, carefully choose when to move, involve your kids as much as possible, and find ways to pack when they’re not around. Keep morale high and give your kids the attention they need on moving day to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Guest Posting courtesy of
Kris Louis