Moving with kids is not easy. Whether you are moving to another city in Florida or across the country, it’s all challenging when children are involved. Even if everyone in the family generally seems excited about the move, kids often feel overwhelmed and stressed by the moving process.
So, if a move is on the horizon, we’ve put together a list of things to consider to help your kids have an easier time handling the process.
Choosing the Right Home
Before you’ve even chosen your new home, you should consider your children and their needs. Children are often left out of the house-hunting process, but it’s important that your new home suits their needs as much as it suits yours.
For example, accessibility is an important factor to consider if your kids have any disabilities or limitations that necessitate accessibility modifications. And even beyond your children, if you intend to have family come visit, like grandparents, a more accessible home can make a huge difference.
Even if your children or other family members don’t need a more accessible home, it’s still important to include them in the house-hunting process, as this can help them feel more at ease with the move.
Talk to Them About the Move
Communicating honestly and openly is one of the best things you can do to help your kids through the moving process.
Even if you have little ones, they hear and understand more than you think. So it’s important to sit down and talk with them about the move so they can know what to expect.
Talk to them about why you are moving, how the moving process will work, and what will need to happen. You should also discuss with them what to expect from their new home and their new neighborhood. Visuals are often helpful in these situations, such as showing them pictures of the new house, their new room, or their new school.
Get Them Involved in the Moving Process
Once the process of getting everything packed up begins, it’s important to continue keeping your kids involved in this process. A great way to start is to sit down with them to make a moving checklist of everything that needs to happen before you move.
This can help them understand why you need to pack everything up so they don’t feel as overwhelmed or like things are out of their control. It’s good to make them feel like they are part of the process rather than everything happening to them and being out of their control.
Make Their Room a Priority
Both on the front end and back end of packing, make your kid’s room a priority. Their room should be the last room that gets packed up before the move and the first room that you unpack and set up once you’re in the new home.
Moving is often scary and overwhelming for children. So it’s crucial for them to have a safe space where they can relax and feel comfortable throughout the process, which is usually their room.
Stick to Their Routine As Much as Possible
Routine is another important factor to keep in mind when moving with kids. Any disruption to their regular routine, such as when they wake, eat, and sleep, can throw them off. So when you are moving, it’s important to try to stick to the usual schedule as much as possible.
There might be some days when things need to change temporarily, and that’s okay. As long as you talk to them about it and try to maintain a normal schedule as much as you can, it can help them feel more at ease throughout the process.
Get Involved in the New Community
Get your kids involved in the new community as much as possible as soon as you arrive in your new home. This will help ease the transition into their new life and get them excited about their new neighborhood or city.
For example, you can take them on walks around the new area, introducing them to neighbors and local businesses that will become a part of their new life. You can also look into community groups and organizations to get them involved in, such as sports, music, theater, volunteering, or anything else you think they might enjoy.
Let Them Help Set Up the New Home
Aside from getting their room set up first, involve them in setting up the rest of the home as well, especially spaces that will be shared with the rest of the family, like the living room, the family room, the dining room, the kitchen, etc.
This can be especially helpful if your new home needs to undergo renovations. Renovations can be loud and chaotic, which can be scary for some kids. But if you talk to them about what’s happening and even help them feel involved in the process, it will reduce the chances of them getting overwhelmed by everything going on around them.
When moving with children, it’s important to have patience and give your kids room to process their emotions. Moving is stressful for everyone, but if you can handle your kids’ potential meltdowns and upsets with a little more grace, then they will likely handle the move a lot easier themselves.
