Many families end up relocating to a new home at some point. As professional movers, we know that moving can be taxing for adults, but it is often much more daunting for kids who may feel like it’s the end of their world. For children of all ages, this is much harder than for adults. They will maybe lose friends. They don’t fall asleep easily or sleep well. They wake up in a new place. Big kids get angry and sad. Little kids get clingy and often regress. And it doesn’t help that they usually have cranky parents, who are struggling to cope with so many additional tasks when their lives were already full, and who may be suffering from their own sense of loss. They may feel saddened at the prospect of leaving everything behind or resentful because they weren’t involved in the decision. No matter what emotions they experience, there are a few steps you can take as a parent to make the transition easier for your children.
So, moving is a big deal for everyone, including families, even if you’re just moving across town or just across the street. With some parts of the moving process, you can get help from professional movers, but with some, you will have to deal with it by yourself. You have to pack everything up-with that you can get help from local movers, live in chaos, physically transport yourself and your family to your new place, and then figure out where everything is. You have to re-organize all your household systems. You have to figure out where to shop, how to get where you want to go, where the good playgrounds are. Everything you’ve taken for granted has to be re-invented. Many children thrive on a routine, so moving to a new home can be overwhelming. They will say goodbye to their school, teachers, friends, and the community they are familiar with. After the move, kids are challenged with acclimating to new surroundings and people, which can take time. We know parents want the best for their children, so our top professional movers compiled top tips to help set your kids up for success before, during, and after the relocation. So, how can you make a move easier for your family?
- Discuss the move ahead of time
Very important advice from our professional movers is to be transparent about your decision to move and speak positively about the opportunity for your family. Discussing the move ahead of time, on multiple occasions, will allow your child to become more comfortable with the idea. Make sure you’re all together as a family when you break the news and tell your kids before you tell other grownups who might spill the news to them. Naturally, you will have adult confidantes who likely know about the move before your children, but you’ll want to hold off on telling teachers, parents of friends, etc., until your kids themselves know. Moving can be a very difficult experience for children and breaking the news is the part many parents worry about most. It is helpful to openly discuss the move with them. If you’re excited about the move (for instance, if you’re moving to a bigger house or have a new job), tell them about the happy news. It also helps to involve them in the process as much as possible, whether it’s taking them on visits to the new house or research the parks and activities in the new city together. This makes the move feel more like a family experience than something being forced upon them.
Moving to a new neighborhood of strangers can certainly be a scary idea to a child, especially if it is his or her first move. Share the story of your first move and what you did to make friends. Also, let them know that you’ll be there to help them settle in and feel comfortable in their new home. Open these lines of communication so they can come to you with their feelings or concerns about the move. Allow them to be upset or sad, and then look for solutions together.
- Hire professional movers and packers
Without a doubt, one of the best reasons to hire budget movers is that by doing so, you’ll benefit from several positive aspects happening at once.
- No stress. Your stress level won’t reach any dangerous levels-you will have professional movers deal with everything for you.
- Peace of mind. You’ll maintain your peace of mind knowing that your belongings are in safe hands and won’t be damaged due to improper handling. Also, you’ll know that you won’t get injured while lifting and hauling around heavy items. Furniture movers know how to do their job in the right way.
- More time. And finally, one of the greatest benefits of hiring local movers is that you’ll get more free time for yourself – valuable time to focus on other important things such as saying goodbyes to your friends, helping your kids deal with the upcoming relocation, changing your postal address, or transferring your utilities.
The benefits of hiring professional movers are that, in addition to the right moving equipment, the team of budget movers will also arrive at your door to help you pack with an abundance of high-quality moving supplies – strong moving boxes in excellent condition, bubble wrap, wrapping paper, moving blankets, packing tape, markers for labeling, and so on. Hiring professional movers means that you won’t have to worry about running out of supplies in the middle of the packing process and more importantly – you won’t have to worry whether or not your valuable items will be sufficiently protected to survive the house move unscathed.
- Involve your kids in the process
Keep your children involved in the moving process as much as possible is what all professional movers would advise you. Have a “pizza and packing” party to make them feel included and a sense of control, then praise them for their contributions, it’s just one of the ways for keeping them busy.
We know that in the interest of time, you may be tempted to throw all your kids’ stuff in boxes yourself or to let furniture movers do it. Letting them be a part of packing their belongings not only makes them feel a stabilizing sense of control but also keeps them occupied so you can focus on other things. Consider labeling boxes with words like “toys” or “shoes” and having them pack themselves where possible. It will be interesting to them to help professional movers, they will feel like an important part of the whole packing process. Draw different colored circles on the boxes if they’re too young to read. You may also want to have them pack their own “comfort bag” filled with a few things that want to easily access at any point in the process.
- Make it an adventure
On the other hand, if your kids are not interested in helping you and local movers, it’s best not to force it and to let professional movers do their own thing while you try to have fun with your kids. Doing a drive-by of the new property to familiarise your young ones with their new area is a great way to build excitement. Moving can be approached as an adventure; exploring new playgrounds, parks and shops can be a good way to create a positive feeling for the new chapter. Similarly, involving the kids in some playful decision-making can also help everybody adjust seamlessly. This can be as simple as taking into account your children’s input on the layout of their new room. This way, furniture movers will be faster and more efficient and your kids will have fun, and won’t have time to be sad.
- Pack their rooms last
If you can help it, hold off on packing your kids’ thing last. If you are hiring professional movers, you can ask them to pack their things last. Our local movers will always be glad to help you. This will help your kids feel settled for as long as possible, reducing their stress and yours. While the urge to pile those toys and stuffies into a box to get them out of the way “for now” is strong, it’s not the nicest approach. When you’re busy and harried, your home is a tumbled mess and the vague shadow of leaving everything behind looms on the horizon, your kids really need something to hold onto. So while it may pain you, take extra care to leave the things they love out and visible, ask your chosen professional movers to do the same. That means their favorite blankets, toys, dishes and utensils, art projects, etc. If they like to hide behind a certain chair or play in a certain sunny windowsill, leave those open as well rather than covering them with boxes. Right now, and until you can create a new life, it’s best to leave the old one as familiar as possible. In addition to that, moving is a time when some parents want to change out their children’s bedroom furniture, opting for an upgrade that better suits their age. Depending on your child’s personality type, it could be a better idea to wait until your kid is settled in the new house before making more big changes.
- Prepare a ‘must-have’ box
Also, important advice from our professional movers is to pack a separate box for things like school books, snacks, lunch boxes, towels, toothbrushes, and favorite toys – that way you have quick access to necessities for the entire week, which will buy you time with the rest of the unpacking. Other handy items for your ‘must-have’ box include spare light bulbs and toilet paper rolls. Get your children to help pack the ‘must-have’ box – they can pick out their favorite items to have to hand, and it’s a great way to help them feel involved. If you hire local movers they will always put these boxes at the end of the moving truck so you can easily access them.
- Go easy with the unpacking
Once you’ve finally got all your possessions into your new home, with or without the help of local movers, it’s easy to feel like you need everything set up perfectly as soon as possible. It’s often better to accept that the unpacking will take days, if not weeks, and concentrate on the essentials. Are all the beds set-up? Do the kids have access to their favorite toy? If so, you just might have done enough for now. Of course, we would always advise you to hire local movers for the unpacking process too, it will make the moving process a lot easier.
- Be happy, and they’ll be happy
At the end of the day – moving day, of course – kids are going to take a similar attitude to the relocation that you do. If you’re cheerful and upbeat, they’ll sing the same general tune. You can make their job easier, though, by giving them tangibles on which they can focus their energies before, during, and after the move. With the help of professional movers, you know everything will be as smooth as possible, so no need to worry about a thing.
So, like we all already know, a move is already a somewhat stressful life event. The stakes are often high, with finances, timing, and the unknown hanging in the balance. If you have younger kids, as we have already said, you can expect to double that stress during your move. The needs of your children can make prepping for your move more difficult, but they also have needs during this transition that often get pushed to the background, sometimes making them feel like another item to be packed. Being in the business of helping people pack up and move, our professional movers at Movers Mission Bay know that a lot of families struggle with making this process a smooth one, so we’ve got you these tips to make this time go a little smoother for all involved. We hoped our local movers’ advice helped you even a little bit. So if you are moving with kids around the city, call our professional movers and they will make sure your upcoming relocation goes as easy as possible!