Moving with kids to a new house can be hectic if not appropriately planned. Whether moving just within the block or in a new locality, children feel daunted by the idea of leaving behind a familiar place. It is rather difficult for them to fathom such a decision at a tender age. Most families engaged in the corporate sector have to decide to move out more than once to supplement their growth professionally.
Despite not relishing the decision that much, there is no option. In this process, we sometimes tend to forget the magnitude of the impact the child would have by moving into unknown circumstances. Following a few guidelines and involving your children in the process can make the experience of moving into a new house pleasurable for kids.
Ten Steps For Moving With Kids With an Ease
1. Announce your move well in advance
Discussing with your children about your move can help them immensely understand the decision and allows them to go through an easy transition. So let’s catch up over dinner and have a healthy interactive discussion about your decision to move. If you are moving out because of your promotion, share your happiness and excitement with your children.
This makes them a little more involved and makes them happy too. You can also explain your decision by telling them the pros of the particular place you are shifting to and make them mentally prepared for what is in store for them.
2. Involve your kids in the selection-making process
Children come with tender hearts but feel responsible and strong if given responsibility. Choosing a new house in a new locality can be complicated if your children don’t support you with the proceedings. While on the selection spree, tuck your children in the car and ask to give you inputs about the new projects. Show them the houses you appreciate and ask to provide honest feedback.
This will help them to get attached and make them feel responsible about their choices. If you plan to move with kids out of the city, share pictures of the newly listed houses with them and know their inputs on what to choose and how to improve.
3. Expunge Before Packing
Involve the kids in purging before you start packing for the new house. Let them get involved in the process of decluttering. Tell the kids to eliminate what is not required. This helps them in the process of detachment. They also take the prerogative of their actions of elimination and don’t fall back on the parents this way.
Please take a tour closet by closet, room by room with them and involve them in deciding what should be taken along and what is to be eliminated. As parents, it is vital to tell your children to hold onto memories most positively and not become broody around or about old things.
4. Organise with them
After letting them get involved in the purging process, now is the time you apply them in the organizing process. A haphazard packing can mess you up, as once you open the cartons in the new house, everything seems like it could be more organized. So instead, the kids can help you with labelling the cartons and help you make separate inventories.
This process makes them feel engrossed, and there is less room for them to feel left out. The more occupied the children are in organizing your luggage, the more helpful and happy they will be with the whole moving-out process.
5. Explore the New Place
Explore the new locality with your children. If at a distance, they drive around the locality with your children before making final decisions. If it’s just close by, go for evening walks with your children to make them aware of the new neighbourhood. Let them research by exploring some local parks or markets around the locality.
Do not try to raise expectations without research, as raised expectations can disappoint the children if not met. Instead, they can hunt for local clubs or classes and wound the society to make themselves feel a good fit in. encourage them with their explorations and research.
6. Make Design Plans
Now that you have sought your children’s help in packing and finalizing the house, involve them in the design process. Every child has a creative side to them. Let them unleash it with myriad colors and designs.
Take them for a visit to the furniture shop to take their input on the choice of the furniture, let them choose their room’s color palette and if they extend help, let them help you design your room too. This allows them to get attached to the new house automatically. A visit to the hardware shop to choose the color palette for all the different rooms can also be a great idea.
7. Do a Site Visit
Once you’ve decided to move with the kids, you may pay them a visit to their new home. Consider spending the day walking around the house and visiting the new neighbourhood if you are relocating across town. Then you may go to the local library and each child’s school.
You can still do this if you’re relocating a long distance away, even if it entails beating the moving truck by several days and sleeping in a nearby hotel. In addition to visiting the child’s school and the local library, plan to visit any other facilities you may use, such as the local theatre or music school. Additionally, you can take your kids to the workplace by driving them there.
8. Farewell Party
It’s arduous for a child to say goodbye to his old friends in the old locality. Children fear change, and adapting to a new environment is somewhat daunting. To make things easier, host a see you soon party in the old locality. This party can be a medium to exchange old friends’ numbers and email addresses.
Your child can keep in touch with his old friends in this way. Many photographs, games, and exchanging goodbye notes will help your child make beautiful memories that he can rejoice in when he shifts to a new locality.
9. Be Touristy in the New locality
Now that you have moved into the new house with your kids, it’s time for settlement. How you plan for a smooth transition, but driving with kids comes with challenges. The child may seem prepared but can their tantrums. The best action is to be touristy to calm your child. Take your child out and start exploring the new place with him.
You can go cycling or for a walk with your child to show him the nearby attractions. For example, a lake or a play area can be a super magnet for your child and help him divert his attention. Children have short attention spans, and they can start throwing tantrums anywhere. So it is imperative to keep the exploration spree
alive until the children feel settled.
10. Talking to your children
Moving with kids at any age can be a strenuous task, but particularly at the brink of their teenage years is the roughest time. This is the age when they become thick with their friends and are utmost comfortable with their surroundings. The best period to move with kids younger than age six. This is a tender age, and kids don’t have a limited capacity to understand the changes.
Moving with kids without involving them can disrupt his sense of stability. They start feeling insecure, which hinders their social development. However, if parents are mindful of the whole process, they can help their child make the transition smooth. The parents need to intentionally make their children aware of the reasons behind the shift and the pros attached to the new life. Deep conversation with your child at the right time can help you eradicate the long-lasting effect on them, which otherwise can hinder their growth.
Conclusion
Moving with kids can be daunting for both the parents and the children. Often, kids resist moving out of their comfort zones and to an entirely new and unfamiliar zone. However, following the above-stated tips, you can guide the kids to move out peacefully without any hard feelings. All that is required is to give your kid extra attention, love and time during this transition phase.
