Surviving the Move with Kids

Surviving the Move with Kids

Moving is stressful and moving with children is even more so. Whether they’re barely out of nappies or on the cusp of adulthood, parenting never stops and emotions are going to be running high on moving day.

To ensure your moving day is less of a headache and more of a fun adventure, we’ve put together some helpful tips to beat the stress.

Don’t Put it Off

You don’t need the stress of doing everything last minute, and your kids don’t need the panic of seeing their belongings being thrown into a box and loaded onto a truck all at once. Remember how leaving the house suddenly took twice as long with kids than it did without? Apply that to packing.

Start packing and moving things out of the house well in advance. Get your kids to help out and encourage them to pack their own special box of items they want with them on their first night in the new house. Load this box last so they can find it early in the unpack and can find comfort in familiar things on their first night in the new home.

Take the opportunity during your packing to declutter. Have you found some toys they no longer play with, or have outgrown, and are still in good condition? Consider donating them to St Vincent de Pauls. This will reduce your packing load and ensure those toys can go to a new home too. Grace’s Move House, Make a Difference program makes this even easier.

Plan, Plan, Plan!

Tell your kids when moving day is and remind them regularly. Let them know what they’ll need to do and how the day will play out so they can be prepared. This will give them time to check that everything in their room is packed and ready to go before the big day. Do this with younger kids so they can see nothing is being left behind.

If you’re worried about kids getting underfoot or feel it’ll be easier to move without them hanging around, plan the move for a school day or organise childcare. That way the kids are out of the house and you can focus all your energy on the move itself. Be sure to have a plan in place for who is dropping the kids off and picking them up from school if they’re not going to be returning to the same house.

Consider whether it may help to hire a baby sitter to look after the kids while you focus on move day, especially if friends and family are helping you move and are unable to baby sit for you.

Let the kids get involved

If you can’t schedule the move day to fall on a school day, or if your children aren’t in school yet, let them get involved and help out. Although the house will be packed up by this stage, there’s plenty of cleaning to be done, as well as final checks to ensure nothing gets left behind. Get the kids to help clean around the house so they have something to focus on. Their perspective might also help pick up on things you’d forgotten to consider. This is also a great way to spend some time with the kids in the house before you say farewell.

In your new home

Once you’re in your new home, there are a few things you can do to help your kids settle in:

  • Set up their room
    Get younger kids involved with setting up their new room, or just offer to help older kids if they want to do it alone. Whether they replicate their old room, or make a whole new space for themselves, help them feel at home by letting them know it’s their room and their space.
  • Invite some friends over
    Whether for a sleepover or a play date, it will help them know they aren’t losing their friends by moving. If it’s a long trip, make a weekend of it. The kids can explore the house, and area, while you put the finishing touches of turning your new house into a home.
  • Sports and clubs
    If your kids can’t stay in their old clubs, find some new ones for them to join. Not only will this keep them engaged in things they love but give them an opportunity to meet new friends.

Ask for help

Some things are just not achievable on your own, and that’s okay. Ask Grace for help with managing move day so you don’t have to stress about it. Grace removalists can take care of the packing, uplift and delivery of your household goods so you can spend time with the kids and enjoy the experience of moving house.

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