5 Tips For Moving With Kids

Moving with kids can be a frightening thing for both your children and yourself.  You are excited to make a change and move your family, but you are also worried that you are doing something that will be hard for your kids to cope with.  These 5 Tips For Moving With Kids will make it easier for you as you make the choice to move with kids to a new home in a new city or just a new location in your hometown.

5 Tips For Moving With Kids

Let them help in the process.  You may not be able to include them in choosing the home, but you can keep them in the loop so they don’t feel blindsided by the decision.  Once you are sure a move is happening, sit down and talk to them, then have them go along with you as you look at houses, or do planning.  Including them in the process gives them a sense of ownership over the situation.  This can help them feel much more secure about the move.

Let them create their own space in the new home.  It is extremely important when moving with kids to let them create their own space in the new home.  Let them choose things like what color to paint their bedroom, how to arrange their furniture, or even which bedroom will be theirs.  Letting your kids make this space their own will go a long way toward giving them comfort and acceptance of the change.

Allow them to grieve as needed.  There will be tears.  Sometimes it is all about the change.  Sometimes it is grief over leaving something behind.  If your child has only ever known the one home, it can be tough for them to leave it and move forward.  This is often harder for younger children but can be a problem for every age, including teens and adults. Take time and don’t dismiss their fears and sadness.  Allow them to grieve what they are leaving behind, but also encourage them to look at the great things in the future at their new home.

Bring comfort items along to have right away.  Make sure when packing for your move, that you keep those comfort items easy to access.  Moving with kids means you’ll need to see to their comfort differently than you would your own.  This includes keeping things like toys, blankets, or their bed easy to access and ready to use on the first night.

Make time for them to see friends from your old home.  If you are moving cross country, this is harder to manage.  However, if your move is a shorter distance you can easily make sure that play dates are arranged on a regular basis.  Keeping your kids in contact whether it is via email, social media, snail mail, phone calls, or play dates is always important in easing the transition when moving with kids.

These tips for moving with kids will help make any upcoming move easier to manage with your children and family.  It’s all about thinking ahead and working with your kids to help them become comfortable with the idea of moving to a new home.