Moving with kids can be an ordeal. Even though my husband and I moved many times, we didn’t recognize how hard moving could be until we moved with our three children. Don’t despair. This website isn’t called The Art of Happy Moving for nothing. There are ways to help your kids make a happy move.
Moving With Kids: 5 Tips Before Your Move
Tell the Kids As Soon as Possible
Try to refrain from keeping secrets. The kids pick up on all of those hushed conversations. Use these three easy steps to tell your kids about the move. Tell your child why you’re moving, when you’re moving, and three reasons to be happy about the move.
Get the Kids Involved in the Move
Your child feels like life is out of control at the moment. Give him a sense of ownership in the move and a feeling of control. Your child can help declutter and pack up his things. Let your child pick out the color of his room or a new bedspread or let him have input into the timing of the move.
Let your child create his dream room.
Stick to Routines to Help Minimize the Changes
With so many changes happening right now, try to keep the rest of life as normal as possible. Also, remind your child what routines will change and what will remain the same after the move. If you do story time with your child every night, let him know that isn’t going to change after the move. If your child plays on a soccer team, let him know he’ll still get to play soccer after the move but the kids will be from a different town. The more information your child has, the better prepared he will feel to handle the changes.
Host a Moving Par-Tay
Host a moving party for your child.
Happy moving inevitably involves partying – both for you and for your child. If your child has always dreamed of inviting her closest friends to Chuck E Cheese or renting a game truck, this may be the time to indulge those fantasies. Maybe she’d prefer a sleepover with close friends or a pizza party at a local park with all of her classmates. Moving with kids can be stressful, so remember to plan something fun for you, too.
Talk Up Your New Destination
Focus on three main reasons your child’s life will be better after the move. If you’re moving closer to family, let her know that she’ll get to see her favorite cousin on weekends. If you’re blocks away from the best ice cream shop in Boston, mention it. Your enthusiasm is contagious and your child wants to feel happy about the move, even if she’s not showing it right now.
Skatepark nearby? Tell your skater all about it.
Moving with Kids: 5 Tips After Your Move
- Keep Up With Family Routines and Traditions
Maintaining a sense of normalcy is important. Stick to bedtime and mealtime routines. If you have family traditions like apple picking in the fall or making cookies for the holidays, continue them when you move to your new town. Your child will want to feel that things can still be predictable even if so many things have changed.
Focus On Setting Up an Oasis for Your Child
The rest of the house may be a disaster, but our kids feel like they have a safe place to get away from the chaos. By unpacking your child’s room first, you can give your kid a place to play while you are busy unpacking the rest of the house. It will also give him a sense of safety to easily find his personal belongings.
Be a Tourist In Your New Hometown
Hit the library right after you move.
The unpacking will get done eventually, I promise. For now, take advantage of this time to explore your new city as a family. Visit the top local attractions. Get your library card and check out a stack of books. Go on a scavenger hunt where your kids look for landmarks. Moving with kids is the perfect excuse to play Pokemon Go. It’ll get you walking around the neighborhood and exploring locations that may not be on your radar.
Try New Things as a Family
The best thing about moving is that you get to start over and to create an even better life than you had before. First, figure out what things you would like to improve upon in your family life. Maybe you’d like to spend more time together or host family game nights or eat more meals together. You may want to add nightly walks around the neighborhood or involve the kids with home improvement projects. This is the time to do all of those things you kept meaning to do as a family, but never quite got around to doing in your old place.
Give Your Kid The Tools She Needs to Make New Friends
Do role play scenarios to meet friends.
Making new friends requires a few easy body language tips. Practice these tips with your child: make eye contact, smile, and keep your arms by your side. If you want to go over some scenarios, check out these conversations. To help your child feel more confident, do role play at home before he begins at a new school.
Thank you, Ward, for providing this infographic.
8 comments
Great moving tips for parents!
Moving with kids can be complicated (especially if they are too young). Kids get more emotionally attached to places than adults, even more if it has been their childhood home. The keys to ease the process is to always be there for your kid, ask them about their feelings and be supportive. Thanks for sharing this post. I am sure many parents will find this information helpful.
“Hiring” my 3 girls as helpers is the best decision I’ve made so far this year. I only hope they are as excited to unpack as the are orginizing and painting all their boxes! Great post!
Moving with kids is not easy task. Children are very troubling when they are moving. I got the your blog on google and i reading your blog. I am happy with you share the valuable tips for moving with kids. Thanks you so much you share the useful tips.
Thanks for sharing these tips. I am sure many parents are dealing with this situation. Moving with kids can be very stressful.
Great advice. I am moving son with 2 kids. We have talk a lot about it and they are actually very exciting to move to a new place. I guess they have this adventurer spirit just like me. As for their friends, I told them that today there are many ways of keeping in touch with old friends. Facebook and Skype are a great way to communicate with their friends.
Yes, moving with kids is a real challenge. So let them feel they’re a helpful part of a team. First, prepare your children for the move by telling them about the move. Discussing the move with your children and everything you know about the move is important. Encourage them to talk about it and to ask questions. Once your kids know about the move, the next step is to help them get ready and prepared. Take them to the office supply store to pick up fun materials for them to use while packing their stuff. Purchase colorful stickers, markers, a journal or diary to record their experience, boxes, packing tape and plastic bins.
Thanks for reminding me that I shouldn’t keep secrets from my kids especially if it is about moving. The divorce got processed earlier than expected and I know they wouldn’t want to move out of their dad’s home, but I gained full custody and they have to come with me. I’ll try to tell them first before hiring moving services.