Moving can be stressful for everyone involved, but it’s especially hard on children. Not only are they moving out of their home, they are potentially moving away from all their friends, their school and their familiar neighborhood. Unlike adults, children have no say in the matter of moving and have to do what mom and dad decide. It can be a very stressful time for the whole family.
Including your children in the moving process is one of the best ways to ease them through this life transition. Our professional movers have compiled four expert tips on ways to include your children in your move.
Tell your children about the move as early as possible. Don’t wait until the last minute because you don’t want to upset them. They’ll need time to adjust to the idea. It’s especially important because children will need a lot of warning that they’ll be losing their friends, and will want to spend as much time with them as possible before the move.
Give your child a few responsibilities to help prepare for the move. For young children, even something as easy to putting colour coded stickers on the boxes in each room will do the trick. It can help reduce stress if your child feels like they are part of the moving process.
Never give away your child’s beloved toys. Even though it might be easier to get rid of some of your child’s possessions before packing everything up, it will only upset them to find their belongings have disappeared. If you absolutely must downsize, leave it to them to pick and choose which toys to take and which toys to give away. One good idea is to have them give a toy to each of their friends, as a way of saying farewell.
Let them say goodbye to friends and neighbours. Consider throwing your child their own going away party to say goodbye to all their friends. Involve them in the planning, such as asking who to invite, what types of food they’d like to eat at the party and which games they want to play. Do whatever you can to make it a day of fun, not a day of sadness.
Although moving is one of the biggest life changes a child can go through, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. If you follow these four tips, your child will be well prepared for the move and may even be excited when moving day finally arrives!
