Moving home is an exciting time but it can also be an incredibly stressful experience for young families. In this article, we’ll be exploring eight tips for relocating with children…
There is a lot to consider when moving home, and at times it can feel incredibly overwhelming. The stress factor can also be magnified to a huge extent when young children are added to the mix.
You can make your move as stress-free as possible by contacting Chelmsford solicitors to help ensure your recent property investment is legally sound. But, in this article, we’ll be offering our best practical and actionable advice on relocating with young kids.
1. Communicate
When moving house, you can save yourself a considerable amount of stress by simply talking to your kids about what’s going to happen. By explaining the process to your children beforehand and answering their questions, you can eliminate a fair few ‘but why’s’ on the day.
This is also a really good opportunity to tell your children about all the great things that the new house and location have to offer.
2. Show and tell
While it’s great to explain the moving process to your kids, it can be even more helpful to take them to see the new home. Letting the kids see the new house will help to solidify the idea for your children, particularly if they get to see or choose their own room.
3. Timing is everything
If you have school-age children, it’s a good idea to organise your house move during term time. This will allow you to get cracking with the bulk of the move without having to keep an eye on the kids at the same time. If this isn’t possible, you may want to consider calling on friends or family to help watch the children for a few hours as this will keep them occupied while allowing you to get most of the heavy lifting done.
4. Get them involved
There’s always a lot to do when moving house but children can become frustrated if they feel that they are being left out of something which concerns them. Make sure that you keep them involved in the process by asking what they think and how they feel about the move in general.
5. Game on
A house move involves a lot of waiting around as well as a fair amount of toing and froing which can be a little boring for young children. Keep tantrums and whining at bay by turning parts of the move into a game for the kids. And during quiet or dull times, make sure that they have plenty of toys to keep them busy.
6. Keep the essentials to hand
When moving house, most people keep a box nearby containing the key essentials such as teabags and snacks. When putting this box together, don’t forget the things that your kids might ask for during the day. Many parents have been faced with a moving day meltdown because they don’t have their child’s favourite teddy or game in arm’s reach.
7. Have a routine
Where possible, try to stick to the routine that your child is used to when it comes to mealtimes and bedtime as this will help children to settle in more quickly and to feel more secure. It’s a good idea to try to move and unpack the children’s rooms first so that they feel that they have their ‘base’ and are surrounded by things which are familiar to them. As a bonus, this will also help to keep them from under your feet.
8. Check in with your kids
Once you start the ball rolling with a house move, there is a lot to do and to think about. With this in mind, it’s important you don’t forget to check in with the kids now and then to ask how they’re feeling about everything. If it’s their first house move, they will almost certainly have concerns and questions but may feel that you’re too busy to deal with these.
Relocating with children
Moving house can be stressful for everybody concerned but especially for those with young children. If you do have kids, the key is to try to turn it into a fun adventure. Making sure that your children are involved in the process and keeping routines as normal as possible can really help to keep things on track and minimise stress where possible. There are also a number of children’s books such as ‘We’re Moving’ which can help to reassure the kids when first approaching the subject of a house move.
