As adults, moving can be an exciting adventure. You may be looking forward to a better home, a better job, or a better neighborhood for you and your family. Change always comes with its challenges, though. Your children may not be as excited about your move. They may see it as leaving friends or familiar places. Younger children may present their own challenges, as they need to be cared for while you are planning and moving. You can do it successfully, though, with a little advice for moving with children.

Discuss the Move

Start talking to your children about the move as soon as you know it is going to happen. Share age-appropriate details, like the exact date you’ll be moving, how hectic life may get as you are preparing to move, and what the new home and neighborhood will be like. Ask them how they feel about the move and help them work through any anxious moments by pointing out the positives. Will they be able to make new friends quickly? Go to a better school? Answer their questions, of which they will have many, to relieve their apprehension about the move.

Toddlers and Preschoolers

Younger children may not understand the details of the move, but they know that change is happening, and they need your guidance to deal with it appropriately. Advice for moving with children includes ways to ease the transition for toddlers and preschoolers:

  • Keep explanations clear and simple.
  • Use a story to explain the move or use toy trucks and furniture to act it out.
  • When you pack your toddler’s toys in boxes, make sure to explain that you aren’t throwing them away.
  • If your new home is nearby and vacant, go there to visit before the move and take a few toys over each time.
  • Hold off on getting rid of your child’s old bedroom furniture, which may provide a sense of comfort in the new house. It might even be a good idea to arrange furniture in a similar way in the new bedroom.
  • Avoid making other big changes during the move, like toilet training or advancing a toddler to a bed from a crib.
  • Arrange for your toddler or preschooler to stay with a babysitter on moving day.

School-Aged Kids

Older children need to be reassured they will be able to stay in touch with their current friends and to make new friends. Share information about their new school – and be sure to get all of their records transferred so their transition will be as seamless as possible. Many parents choose to move during the summer months, after the school year is over, which is why May has been designated National Moving Month!

Teenagers

Your naturally rebellious teenagers may find it even more difficult to understand and accept moving to a new home, a new neighborhood, and a new school. Advice for moving with children includes reassuring the teenagers in your house that you respect their opinions and want to hear their concerns. It might help to plan a trip back to your old neighborhood at some point after you have settled into your new home. If you are moving during the school year, look into the possibilities of letting your teenager finish out the year while staying with a friend or relative who lives in their current school district.

Enlist Their Help

Children of all ages can help you prepare for your move. In fact, getting them to pitch in with sorting and packing can help alleviate some of their anxiety about the move. Younger children can help you sort through clothes, toys, and books that can be donated rather than moved to the new home. Older children and teenagers can clean, sort, and pack their own possessions as well as other items around the house.

Moving In

When you arrive in your new home, help your children adjust by maintaining a routine of mealtimes, bed times, story times, and other significant events in their day. Let them unpack their own boxes so they will have familiar items with them as soon as they move in. Help them get excited about their new room and the new possibilities in their new home.

Fox Moving and Storage Charlotte is Ready for Your Next Move!

At Fox Moving and Storage Charlotte, we know moving can be a challenging time for the whole family. Our professional movers will help you take care of the planning, packing, moving, and unpacking so you don’t have to worry. If you have questions about moving give us a call. Fox Moving & Storage Charlotte wants to help you with any and all of your moving needs.

We also offer you a free quote. Simply give us a call today at 980-207-2998 and find out how we can help you.