How You Can Make Moving Easier on the Kids

It’s exciting to move into a new property, particularly if this is the first one you’ve ever bought for yourself. Bringing the whole family away from a rental and into a home where your name is on the title is going to be a life changing experience. The only issue? You need to prepare the kids for the move, too. Kids are prone to stress, and if you don’t prepare them for moving to a new location and a new home, they’re going to be confused and panicked – and you can avoid that from happening. 

The first thing that you have to do as a parent is to help them to accept the truth of what’s about to happen. They may be excited by the prospect of new bedrooms and a new backyard to play in. If you want to help kids to accept the new move, you can also use kids books for dealing with change to help talk through the changes that will happen. Preparation is key to success and if you’re about to move to a new place with the kids, you need these tips to help you all to transition:

Image source: Pexels

1. Talk about it. If you want to prepare your children for change, you have to discuss it often. They need to hear what the changes will be and when so that they stay secure in the whole process. You have to make them aware of the move, and young children may not know what it means. The kids books we mentioned can help them to feel like they understand the transition a little more. It’s best to announce your move as early as possible so that they feel like it’s not a last-minute drop of information.
2. Take the kids to visit the new house. Another factor for the stress that comes with children who are about to move home is there is some unfamiliarity with the new place. The children may be worried about their new home and the new place, and taking them to visit it and explore the community can really help them to feel settled immediately. When you then take them several times, by the time you do move in, they are so familiar with the area that they’re excited to go back. You can get their opinions on their new home and you can ask them for their help on changes for their bedrooms to help them to feel more secure.
3. Listen to their opinions. It’s important that as a parent, you don’t overlook their opinion when it comes to moving. They may not like it, but it’s OK for them to voice that they don’t like it. Children may take some time to articulate what they are feeling stressed over, and if they tell you that they don’t want to move, it’s a good time to talk through all of the reasons why moving is going to happen. And this can help them to feel more settled if they understand that it’s not just a last minute thing. Teenagers especially if they have to move schools may find the whole thing difficult, which is why you have to talk to them as early as possible to help them to transition.
4. Get them to help you with packing. Children can pack their own small essentials box to help them with the transition. When they’ve moved to their new bedroom, they can open the box and they can access their immediate needs. 
5. Keep to schedule as much as possible. Continue with your usual routines of school runs and dinner times. This will help them to feel like they can settle in a lot easier because other things in their life are still consistent. When you move to the new house, they may not like any change in their routine, so make sure they’re still eating at the same time and they’re still going to school at the same time and that they’re still visiting the park with their friends at the same times. Doing that will help them to feel that consistency and security and what they’re doing.
6. Stay calm and be positive. It’s essential for you as the parent to model the behavior you want to see. If you remain calm, your children will remain calm. If you remain positive, your children will remain positive. It’s vital that you do this so that they can see from day one that you are as excited about this move as they should be.