How To Move With KIds

Move with kids: How to make it easy

Your dream home is now your perfect family house. This beautiful home is a new construction with great amenities, such as a large yard and friendly neighbors. Now that you've completed the closing process and sold your existing home, all you need to do is move in with your children.

Moving to your dream home can be stressful. You will need to pack, move, adjust, and transport everything. These tips will help you make your move as smooth as possible, and to keep your children happy.

What to tell your kids about moving

You must inform your children about the move. Although you might be anxious about moving to a new area and making sure your furniture looks good, it is likely that your move will cause your children's world to change. You will likely lose their familiarity and friends, and they will have difficulty adapting to new situations. There are things that you can do for your kids to make this transition more manageable.

As soon as you can, tell them. Your kids will likely know if you are planning a move. To help your children prepare for the move and to make sure they feel involved, let them know as soon as you can.

You should give them all the details. Your children may need more information depending on how old they are. You should inform your children about the date and time you will be moving into your new house, how your life will change while they pack up your home, as well as whether you plan to share rooms in the new place.

Encourage them to find exciting reasons. There will be many reasons for your children to feel disappointed. Your support is essential for them to be excited about moving away from their friends and to find a new home.

Answer all their questions. Ask your children questions. Give them truthful answers. This will help you feel less anxious. You might be able to help them imagine how their old friends will stay in touch or the new school they'll look like.

Encourage them to express their emotions. It is the best thing you can do for your children. Children will feel scary emotions and may not know how to handle them. To help them understand and cope with their fears, you can use books, music or clip from favorite television shows.

Move with your kidsStack of moving boxes

Now it is time to get your stuff ready. You might face challenges such as keeping track of your kids and dealing with angry attitudes. These are some tips to help you get through your next move.

You don't have to start later than you might think. Everyone has it. Moving day comes and goes and suddenly you are putting things in boxes while your moving truck arrives. Start packing as soon as you can so that your family is ready for the big move.

Plan your move for the next week. With your children, plan the week leading up to your move. Plan what foods your family will be eating and how they will consume them. To reduce stress and last-minute panic, create packing lists. You should plan who is going to be driving which vehicle and how they will get there safely.

Make a list of things you need to do. It's a win-win situation for you both to have your children help with simple tasks before your move. You can give them lists with cleaning tasks and packing items.

Follow a routine. A set routine is a great way to help young minds. It is important to ensure that your family routines and schedules are not lost in the midst of moving. This will help reduce stress and uncertainty.

Use your child-free time. It's not easy to pack every item you have into boxes. It's not easy to do this while managing a household. You can turn naptime into packing time and do as much as possible while the kids are in school.

Color-code boxes. It can be difficult to keep boxes organized when there are so many helpers. Use colorful tape or stickers to label each box. This is a quick and simple way for kids to organize their stuff.

For everyone, bring an overnight bag. Every member of your family should have a duffle bag containing all essentials. These bags can be used for both the first and last nights in your new house.

Throw it away if you are unsure. Many things children accumulate are broken crayons and old school assignments. They also have buckets filled with old toys. You probably already have at least a dozen boxes worth of junk from your children. To save packing tape and time, get rid of as much junk as you can.

You should be sneaky. Children can also become attached to junk. You can get rid of junk at night, school hours and any other times they don't notice. Your child won't remember those scraps of paper after they are gone, I swear.

Keep a positive attitude. Keep your kids happy and keep your energy high. It is particularly important to do this when you are settling in your new house, since your children may already feel anxiety.

Hiring a babysitter is a great idea. This is a great idea for a date night: You can send the kids to stay at the babysitter while you do other things. By getting busy I mean that you pack boxes as quickly as possible. A sitter can be a wonderful solution to younger children who don't attend school. It will also help you move during summer when your other kids won't be there.

Let your children have a say. Your children will feel more in control of their surroundings if they are allowed to make some decisions. Let your children help you make decisions that are important to them.

Photograph your home. Your children will have trouble saying goodbye to their old house if they are anything like the majority of kids. You can make your kids feel more relaxed about the prospect of leaving.

Give your children enough time for adjustment. Your children may need to adjust for at least a year. Expect strong emotions in the beginning.

Begin to befriend your neighbours. Your children will settle down and adapt faster if they have the opportunity to meet new people. They will be busy and it will give you time to pack all the boxes.

What to pack with your kids

You'll still have to pack the boxes, even if everything has been done. There's even a chance that they will fight you and proceed to pack their stuff in boxes you don't see. These are just a few tips to help you pack stress-free with your kids.

Sort, Sort, Sort!

It is something that most children will not be able do by themselves. Your children might require some guidance depending on how old they are (preteens), or you can sort it yourself (babies and toddlers). Sort everything into 3 sections: Keep, Discard, Sell/Donate.

Once you teach your child how to do it, most kids can pack their "keep" items in boxes.

Offering incentives

It's a good idea to reward your children for completing tasks such as packing and organizing. If your children are struggling to pack their stuff, you could let them keep the money they earn from selling it or give them a gift card so they can buy a new item once everything is packed. You can make packing easier by offering incentives.

It should be a competition

Nothing is more exciting for kids than seeing their sibling win at anything. Turn this competitive nature into a winning strategy by making packing a game. Your children can pack whatever they want during each round. To get credit and a prize, everything must be neatly packed.

Donating old toys

Donate your unwanted and unsold toys instead of throwing them out. It's more than a way to dispose of extra clutter. Donating is also a good opportunity to show your children the importance of charity and giving back.

Did you remember earlier that I suggested being sneaky? It's a good idea to let your children pick out toys for their friends. Let them know that toys they no longer play with can be donated to another child, who will love them as much as they do.

This list has some great ideas for places you can donate toys to.

Storing outgrown toys and clothes

You still have options if your children have outgrown some toys or clothes, but don't wish to throw them away. You have the answer. Storage. Traditional storage units might work well for you if you have too many boxes of items that you don't need.

What about the rest of us with only a handful of boxes?

There's good news! You don't need to store your stuff in a 10x10 block of cement at the town edge. Use Neighbor to find small storage spaces. There's a good chance you will find the ideal storage space in your neighborhood so that you don't need to travel far to get your stuff.

Conclusion

It doesn't take a genius mathematician or a psychologist to understand that adding children to an already stressful environment can cause more stress. You'll have a smoother ride if you prepare your children in advance, allow them to be part of the process, and stay calm.

While I cannot promise that you will not hear it, I do believe "Are We Done Yet?" It will be over 100 times before the end.

Is there a survival tip you can use to move with children? Please share your tips with us below.