Inside: How to make moving home with kids less stressful. Collaborative post.
Moving home is a tricky process to go through no matter who you are. Doing it with kids however can be even more of a handful, and it’s absolutely not something that you should do without careful planning and preparation.
There are a number of things you can do beforehand to make the move as stress-free as possible, and it’s critical that you take these preventative measures seriously. From communicating about the move to not rushing, here’s what you can do.
Communicate clearly and carefully
The first thing to note when moving home with kids is how important communication will be. Don’t keep the move from them until the last minute – you want to give them as much time as possible to ask questions about what’s going on and to get comfortable with the idea of moving house.
What you do need to take care of is the emotional setting that you discuss it in. Try to broach the subject in a calm, settled environment, ideally not when you’re personally stressed about the subject. They’ll absolutely pick up on your mood, and you don’t want to pass on any unnecessary stress.
Use a removals service
One of the single biggest things you can do to reduce the stress of the move is to use a removals service. Trusted providers can take care of a lot of the logistical aspects of the lead-up to the move and on the big day itself, leaving you with more time and energy to spend with your kids when they need it the most.
If you decide to go this route, make sure that you book any services you’re going to use well in advance, to avoid disappointment.
Consider childcare
While it’s good to have your kids involved in the process, if you think it will be too much for them you might want to consider childcare. Ideally, you’ll be able to organise a play date or leave them with a close friend or family member, rather than leaving them with someone they don’t really know.
You want them to be in as familiar an environment as possible, especially when there’s so much change going on around them.
Don’t rush
Lastly, you need to make sure that you leave more than enough time to get everything done without rushing. As you’ll already know, anything that involves children takes a lot longer than if you were doing it alone, and you need to factor this into the moving process.
Start planning a long time in advance, packing things up at least a few weeks before the move is due to happen. This will make it a lot more manageable, hopefully avoiding any last-minute dashes that might lead to a sharp spark in stress for everyone involved.
Moving house with kids will always be at least somewhat stressful, but by embracing the kinds of strategies we’ve outlined above, you can make it a whole lot easier.
It takes time and effort to get it right, but it’s so important that you don’t bring your kids through a traumatic experience that it will always be worth it.