Moving home isn’t something we tend to do often. It can be very disruptive for the whole family. In many cases, it’s a positive thing to do but we don’t always consider the impact that it can have on our children. We moved house a while back, thankfully the children found it a fun and positive experience. We, fortunately, didn’t move far, but, some moves mean a totally new location, new school, new friends etc. Here we look at How to Reduce Children’s Stress When Moving.
#ad
Moving Home with Kids
We don’t necessarily think about the impact a move can have on the family. Children especially can show signs of stress. Indicators include increased bad behavior, bedwetting etc. It’s important to make sure that a move is as stress-free as possible to ensure minimal impact on the whole family. There are ways to help reduce the stress that a move can cause children.
How to Reduce Children’s Stress When Moving
Tell Children you are Moving as Soon as Possible
Keeping children in the dark about a move until the last minute isn’t going to do anyone any favours. Tell them early and point out the positives of the move, for example, they’ll get their own room, maybe it’s larger than the previous one, a big garden etc.
Let the Children be Involved in the Move
We found visiting our new home with the children prior to moving a great way to show them that the move was something positive. They were very excited and couldn’t wait. As I mentioned, we didn’t move far so the children knew the area already. They were also pleased to be a bit closer to their grandparents.
It’s also important if you are downgrading to allow children to have a say with what items to keep and what to get rid of. We collected old toys and clothes that were no longer used and donated them to the school fete and local charity shops. The kids enjoyed doing this and felt comforted in the fact they were helping others.
Allowing children to be involved in the choice of paint/decor in their new room can also help make them feel better about moving to a new place. This is a consideration if the room is for one child or two of a similar age.
Kids Priority Box
It can be beneficial to get the kids to pack a box for themselves with the essentials for the first day or two and their favourite toy(s). This way you negate the need to search for these items once the move has been completed and your new home is full of 101 boxes.
Consider Using a Removal Service
Children tend to pick up on indicators that when we are stressed. It is important not just for them but for the whole family that the move is as stress-free as possible. Often it can help to enlist the help of a Removal Service with Movers and Packer’s option. Although you can pack yourself, this can be a lengthy process so using an experienced company in this and removals can make the move far less traumatic for all. It’s advisable to make sure the kid’s priority box and any boxes with essentials you will require on arrival are loaded on last so you are able to get hold of them easily.
Avoid Moving During Term Time
It helps to move after a break like the summer holidays rather than the middle of the term. Term time moves can be far more disruptive and mean children will need to catch up on work missed at their new school which adds to the pressure.
Allow Children to Say Goodbye to Friends
When you are moving a long distance making it hard to visit old school friends it helps to give your child(ren) the opportunity to say goodbye to their old school friends. I’ve had a few parents have little get-togethers for their children when they knew they were leaving the area. It’s a great opportunity for children to say goodbye in a fun way.
Make it Fun
Making your move fun for the kids can be of utmost importance. Consider getting their favourite food ordered in, build a fort out of boxes and extend it when more boxes empty. Kids love to play in boxes and you’ll have plenty when you have started unpacking.
Routine
Any parent will agree, having a routine is important for children. When you deviate from the routine children often start acting up. Where possible it is best to stick to your previous routine as much as possible when it comes to mealtime and bedtime.
You might also find my post Can Moving Home Impact A Child’s Education? an interesting and helpful read.
What tips would you suggest on How to Reduce Children’s Stress When Moving?
Enjoyed this Post?
Subscribe to Melanie’s Fab Finds RSS feed to see my latest posts. Posts will include recipes, reviews, etc. and as a result, you will hear about my new posts and competitions first!
Watch our fab product reviews on YouTube x
Discover more from Melanie's Fab Finds
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
These are very helpful tips! I like the idea of the kids priority box 🙂
It is a useful thing to do. Helped us when we moved.
Some great ideas here, luckily I’ve never had to move with my littles but the idea does fill me with dread. My tip would be to have them involved with a checklist in some way, ticking off boxes as they’re packed and unpacked on a checklist
That’s a great way to have them involved. It can be made into a fun adventure which helps.
The last time we moved our children were 4 and 5 and we moved to anther country!
Wow, that was a big move. Hope all went well.
Great tips! We’ve moved twice with young children and thankfully both times they’ve been really great and settled quickly.
That’s great to hear. I hope it was a fun adventure for them.
I always tried to make moving fun, and get them to help me
That’s great Paula. I am sure they loved it. Hopefully all settled well after.
There are some really good tips here for sure. i think the key one is deffo to make it fun xx
I agree, the more fun the better!!!
I think there are some really good tips here for sure. I think the key one is to deffo make it fun xx
It sure is when it comes to kids. They are so much happier and behave when having fun.
Really good tips. My girls were involved in the house hunting, decision making and the packing. They stayed at their Grandparents house over night when we moved, to reduce the stress all round and to make sure their beds were set up when they came back home.
They must have loved that. house hunting can be really good fun!
We are hoping to be moving into our new house in the next couple of weeks so these tips have come in super useful. Thank you 🙂 Luckily, we’re only moving a few streets away so the kids don’t have to say goodbye to their friends but I know Oscar will miss living next door to one of his classmates so that might cause a bit of an issue. Keeping everything crossed it will be fine though!
Louise x
I hope it goes well for you Louise. It sounds like you’re not moving too far so playdates won’t be too hard to arrange thankfully.
This is a great list, we are looking to move this year. I hadn’t really thought about how it will affect the boys as its so stressful for us so it goes to reason it will be for them too. Great list will keep this in mind thanks
Thanks Claire. I hope the move goes well. Glad this was useful.
We had moved house three times by the time our younger son was 4. Once across town (in Berlin), once from Berlin back to Edinburgh, and once just up the road in Edinburgh when we finally bought our own home. My number one tip would be to pack up the kids’ things last and unpack them first. And not just having a priority box for the kids, but for everyone – a box that has everything you need for the first few days, like plates and cutlery, and towels, and your tools for assembling furniture.
Wow, sounds like you’ve had plenty of practice. Glad you had a priority box too.
great ideas, i especially like the priority box, i think kids should be involved in move
It is a big thing for the whole family. Children cope better when they feel involved and that they have some sort of control over things happening.
Some great tips here, we are hoping to move this year as the kids are all keen for their own rooms
That would be lovely for them. It’s nice to be able to have their own space.