Best Ways to Make Moving with Kids more Comfortable for your Family
This can be an entailing new change, however, for children, it is also a change that they are looking forward to but can also cause stress. Children especially love schedules and patterns, and mixing them by relocating to another house and take a big toll on them and can be a big problem. Since some moves occur due to job promotions or transfers among other causes, children can feel emotionally strangled due to the belief that they are leaving familiar territories, or due to the difficulty that they will face in a changing environment.
But, with strategies to be considered and implemented, you can make it easier for your little ones and lessen the stress they experience. Here are the things you can do concerning the movement issue as you consider the feelings of your child.
1. Start the Conversation Early
A way of preparing your child for a move is to explain to them that a move is going to happen. Make sure they know that you are leaving and be very clear about why you are going and what they might experience with the next staff member. This is more so for children who may be too young to grasp the reasons why the move is being made.
Try to be truthful, but obviously including such information is too young for the interlocutor. For instance, when talking to young children you could just tell them something like, “Well we are going to be living in a new house, and in the new house you will have your new room that you can help paint and there will be lots of things to mess around with.” In the case of kids of school-going age, try to give reasons such as closer to a new school, family, or a better environment.
This way your child gets adequate time to understand the information you want to pass to them and asks questions in case what they understood is different from what you wanted to teach them. It can also serve to eliminate any level of fear about the unknown. This way they’d feel empowered depending on the extent of knowledge they were willing to be informed about the process.
2. Let Them Be Part of the Packing and Moving
Encouraging your children to be involved in the packing and moving process makes them gain greater control while minimizing the high level of anxiety. The young children can be given simple tasks to enable them to feel that they are part of the total team depending on their age. Even toddlers can do something helpful in moving smaller and more delicate items or picking out toys for packing.
Younger children should involve older ones in larger tasks that require decision-making, such as what toys and clothes to keep, donate o,r sell. This has dual benefits of clearing unnecessary work-related items from the space as well as letting them have some input in the procedure. One can even introduce a competition aspect in packing where you use a stopwatch and try to pack as many boxes as can within the time that has been allocated.
That is, it is useful if the child is capable of it and if you would like him or her to be responsible for selecting a style of furniture for a new room or a color for the walls of a new room. Providing them with some input in the decision-making process will have them all more committed to the new environment and thus they will not have much tendency to resist such change.
3. Maintain a Routine as Much as Possible
Young people incorporate schedules as a means of assuring themselves that they live in a safe world. They need some sort of structure and when the external environment is undergoing transition that familiar structure will go a long way in buffering the shocks. Because the process of moving can be quite stressful, always attempt to keep your child to a normal routine as possible. This includes issues such as breakfast, lunch, supper, bedtime, and time for playing.
When you hire movers, you should ensure that your packing and moving schedule does not interfere with your child’s schedule. For instance, try to pack up their room last, and keep their favorite toys and comfort items easily retrievable in the last few days in your old home. Stability can decrease anxieties it is normal to feel this way. Also, try to avoid changing important aspects like schools if possible during the move. If this is not realistic seek to assist your child to comprehend the change, and what they are likely to encounter.
4. Pack Their Belongings Last
In terms of packing, the last thing to pack should please be your child’s belongings. They should be able to reach out for their toys, books, and other comfort items until the time of transfer. It is, perhaps, useful to have the familiar things around if only to wipe out that insecurity or fear when things are not as familiar.
Make sure to have a “moving day box” with all your child’s essentials, such as a blanket, toy, snacks, books, or art materials. If necessary, you also can take a bag with clothes for the first days in a new home so that you do not look for clothes in boxes constantly.
5. Make the Move a Fun Adventure for Your Kids
Because mentioning the move signifies stress to your child, try to change it into a fun event and an exciting journey. If you are talking to young children then you might want to explain to them about the new house and how fun it will be when you get there. It is possible to discuss the change of pace regarding new parks to visit, new neighbors one has not met before, or even create and have fun with a treasure hunt in the new house.
You also could turn moving day into a special event by preparing a “moving day pack” containing various interesting things with which your child could be engaged when the movers are around. Bring toys, coloring books, or electronic devices to be allowed to watch their favorite movies or play their favorite games.
For the older children you might think about an interesting “moving day road trip” if the move is a long one. Engage your child in planning exciting stations that should be made along the way and this will make him/her look forward to those stops.
6. Set Foot in the New Neighborhood before Relocating
If time permits, one should take his child to the new home and the neighborhood before the actual moving dates. Start with the parks, stores, and schools around the new place to help your child acclimatize to the location. If you can find the house shelter before you relocate into them, let them move around the new room, and make ideas about how they would paint it.
Knowing where they are and what to expect can make it easier for your child once you are all set to go. If you have children then there are chances that they might have switched schools you ought to visit the school and meet the teaching staff before they start attending classes. This can only help in discouraging whatever anxieties they may be having about starting in a brand-new environment.
7. Always Remember Their School and Social Life
If the move translates to a new school then your kid requires all the time he or she needs to come to terms with this new change. Support them in calling or writing to friends or even having Facetime or Skype with friends. In some cases, one needs to organize games or other time shared with newcomers to enable these new classmates or neighbors to make new friends.
Assist them to gather information about the school year and the school by going through; polices, activities that are offered, and any other information that will make the kids feel at ease when that time comes. When your child is having a problem adapting, there is always the school counselor who can offer more help.
8. Foster Open Communication
Let your child express how he or she feels as you undergo the moving process. Some of them might be sad to part with their past home which they used to live in, or they may even be worried about the new environment. By acknowledging their embrace you will assist them to regulate any feelings healthily.
Your child needs to be reassured that it is perfectly all right to be sad, that this is perfectly normal after such a major upheaval. As much as possible assure them that the move is only for a temporary basis but there are a lot of exciting possibilities in the new environment.
9. Unpack and Settle In Gradually
Once you have settled in your new home, spend some time and space for the child to settle into this new environment. Start unpacking their room first, so they have something to run to when needed. Allow them to be involved in the unpacking but don't rush them along. It takes some time to settle into a new home, and giving them freedom to adapt is what is needed.
You can also make it smoother by reassembling a few familiar things that characterized their old space. Maybe your child had an hour of a bedtime routine that has been characteristic of your house. Try to get as close as possible to mimicking the environment they left with the one they are in now.
Conclusion
Possibly there are different reasons why people have to move with their kids, but indeed, it is very complicated The best way is to prepare kids for this change emotionally and to make them participate in the packing and moving process. This could be discussing the move with friends and families, keeping up with normalcy or just ensuring that the process was fun. OH! It is a pity many strategies can help to reduce the emotional stress of packing and moving. Indeed with a little thought, understanding, and good planning, not only will your family endure the change but you will be a much better family for it as you go on to enjoy the rest of your lives together.