How to prepare your children for moving?

Let’s face it – moving to a new home can be really difficult. There are a lot of mixed emotions involved – on one hand, you’re going to a new and interesting place, filled with opportunities. But on the other, you’re leaving a part of your old life behind. So yes, this can be quite stressful. And if you’re moving with your family, all of this is even more complicated. Because of this, learning how to prepare your children for moving should be one of your top priorities. Don’t worry though – that’s precisely why we’re here – to tell you all about it!

Start to prepare your children for moving early on

Moving stress is a very real issue, you may dismiss it as a non-problem before you actually have to relocate yourself – but you’ll soon realize that’s wrong. And don’t worry – it’s a perfectly normal emotional process. After all, you’re changing the most familiar parts of your life by moving. But also, it’s important to understand how this affects kids if you want to prepare your children for moving.

No matter how advanced your children are – the fact remains that they’re still emotionally developing. That’s why it’s important not to overestimate your children. No matter how well you think they’re equipped to cope with this – they’re really not. Especially if we’re talking about young, pre-adolescent kids. For one, children have a lot less control over their emotions than adults. And consequently, they experience everything more strongly. That’s why they’ll need your help to get through this process in their lives, the same way you might need help moving. Don’t worry though – there are a lot of things you can do to ease them through everything:

• Keep them in the loop
• Make time for the kids
• Stay positive throughout the relocation
• Prepare your children for moving day
• Help them adapt to the new home

Keep the children informed

When you’ve been a parent for a while, you gradually learn to trust your instincts when it comes to parenting. After all, you know what’s best for your children, right? In most cases, that’s indeed correct. But sometimes you have to disregard what your gut tells you, and think things through. Once you start to prepare your children for moving, there will be quite a few of these situations. For example, you’ll probably be tempted to not tell your kids about the relocation for as long as you can. We get it, really – you know that it’s something that will probably upset them, so you hold off on telling them.

But actually, that’s one of the worst things you can do. In fact – we recommend doing the complete opposite. The minute you’ve definitely decided to move – go and tell your entire family. Don’t leave the kids out of this. Why? It’s simple – if they find out early on, they’ll have a lot more time to emotionally cope with this big change, especially if it’s a long-distance move. Going over details and telling them everything you’re doing related to the move helps make them feel part of it.

Make time for the kids during the relocation helps to prepare your children for moving

Speaking of time – you should know that this will become a rare commodity. You’ll soon see that relocation requires a lot of time management. Once the planning phase starts, you’ll have a bunch of chores to juggle almost every day. You’ll be dealing with everything, from the simple stuff like researching moving companies to more difficult chores like sorting your belongings from donation, trash, and keeping. In such a hectic environment, it’s often easy to overlook your children, and not spend enough time with them. But as difficult as it’ll be, this is actually the time when you’ll need to show them the most dedication. If you want to prepare your children for moving, you’ll need to be in constant and deep communication with them. You need to know if they have any doubts and reservations, and you should address them. Only this will ensure that your kids adapt to the relocation smoothly.

Show them that you’re happy with the move

During your relocation, it’s great to show your children that you’re positive, and happy with how events are turning out. Simply put, your kids look to you as role models in every way, even when you don’t see it. That’s why you need to emit positive emotions while you’re moving. But bear in mind, you need to avoid a common mistake many parents make. It’s a common pitfall, really, but easy to fall into. Basically – you need to show, and not tell. Simply telling your children that you’re happy is not enough to prepare your children for moving. You need to really show them that you’re dealing with this process emotionally. When your kids see you’re truly satisfied with everything, they’ll have an easier time dealing with the relocation as well.

Have a plan in place for moving day

While the entire time you plan your move will be emotionally difficult for your kids, moving day itself will be the hardest. That’s why you don’t want to leave this to chance, and you need to plan out how that day will go for them. Bear in mind that the sight of all your things being loaded on a moving van may be traumatic for your children. If you’ve got any friends or family that can take care of your kids for the day, you may want to plan out a picnic or some other activity for them. It also helps to involve them in the moving process, they can pack a go-bag including a favorite game or toy, pajamas for the first night in their new home, and some fun snacks for the moving day!

Adapting to the new home

Once the relocation is complete, most of your larger troubles will be over. Now is the time when all the effort you’ve made to prepare your children for moving pays off. The work is not done just yet. In the period after moving day, put in extra effort to help your children adjust to the new house or adapt to their new school. Rather than trying to make it as similar to your old home as you can seem like it can help to minimize the change, it’s also important to stick to your family routines too! It won’t take long for your kids to be fully adapted and happy in the new environment!

If you have any questions about your upcoming relocation feel free to contact us or if you are ready to start the first steps to your family’s move check out our free estimate form.