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It’s stressful when the time comes to move to a new home. Even the smoothest of moves will have its own peculiar set of challenges, and when you have kids, those challenges can become bigger and more difficult to deal with.
There are, however, things parents can do that will make moving much easier on the kids and that will result in one less thing (albeit a big thing) to worry about. Read on to find out what you can do.
Involve The Children
In many cases, it’s not the process of moving itself that is causing problems. Instead, it’s the fact that the children don’t feel as though they have any control over the process. They are being taken from one home – perhaps the only home they have ever known – and dropped into another, and in the meantime, their parents are stressed, and their possessions are strewn all over the place.
It’s no wonder that children don’t take to moving very well.
To combat this issue, it’s best to involve the children right from the start. Don’t spring the idea of moving on them when it’s a done deal, but instead talk to them about why you want to move and what the benefits are going to be. Then get them to come up with their own reasons why moving would be fun. You might also want to have them come view houses with you, so they can have a say in where they live. At the very least, they need to see the property before moving day so they can begin to imagine what it will be like.
Give Them Something To Do
Moving is a combination of a lot of activity followed by periods of nothing happening at all, which will be at once upsetting, frustrating, frightening, and boring for the little ones. And having kids running around can make it hard to think about what you need to do next, causing upset and frustration for you too – you might even get angry (and immediately regret it).
To stop all this from happening, you just need to ensure the kids have something to occupy them. A coloring book, a show they can stream on a tablet or laptop, a game to play, or a task to complete such as writing a story using a random word generator to give them ideas on what it could be about.
The children will be glad to have something to do that doesn’t involve packing or unpacking, and you can continue working through your to-do list in peace.
Stick To Routines
Everyone’s routine will be out of sync when you move, and this will cause problems. Bedtimes and meal times could be delayed or brought forward, and all in all, this shake up could mean that the whole situation becomes a lot more worrying for a child than it needs to be. Kids thrive on routine, and if there isn’t one, even if it’s only for a few short days, it can be extremely unsettling. Add that to the new house, and they may find the move is a traumatizing one.
To make things easier on them, try to stick to routines as much as possible. If that means having to microwave a quick TV dinner or letting the kids sleep on a mattress on the floor because the beds aren’t set up yet, that will be better than destroying the routine.
Category: Mumbling MommyTags: advice
