Call Us: (973) 705-6084
In recent times, moving is a more normal phenomenon than staying tied to one city or country. Research shows that the average American moves nearly 12 times in their lifetime. Regardless of the reason for moving, every move aims to improve living conditions. Although moving also improves children’s lives, they often have difficulty coping with this event. That is why they should be prepared from the first thought of moving. This will facilitate both the preparations for moving and the moving day itself. With the help of relocation experts from Prime Line Van Lines, we created a mini guide on how to keep kids happy during moving day. This kind of preparation will make your relocation with children much easier.
Table Of Contents
So how to keep kids happy during the moving?
For children, leaving home is a great loss. They feel that not only are they losing their home, but also their school, friends, familiar places to hang out, and even familiar stores. That’s why they are sad, and the least desirable thing is for you to make them happy. How to help them overcome this situation?
- Prepare children for the move
- Create a safe place for them during a moving day
- Keep them entertained and engaged
Moving for them means your absence, lack of time together, and loss of everything in the current environment. That is why you must take care of their feelings, desires, and emotions.
Prepare children for the relocation
As soon as you decide on the possibility of moving, inform the children. Many think that at that moment it is too early to talk about everything with the kids, but it is a big mistake. The child must feel involved in making the decision. When the final decision on relocation is made, include them in the relocation preparations. Let them know about the sale of the house when they will be visiting the new location when they will be packing, and the moving date. Even if you take the services of local movers and they will do most of the work of preparing the relocation, the child must be informed and involved in everything possible. Be honest with them, they deal easier with the truth than lie.
Allow them to choose
Given their powerlessness in this situation, the most important thing is to let the kids make as many choices as possible. Children like to choose their future room, the color of the walls, and the things they will take with them. Involve them in the process of preparing things for packing. If you’re moving long distances, you’ll likely get rid of excess stuff. Let your part of the job be to choose good long distance movers and let them decide what is important for them to take with them.
Find out together about the existence of things they like in the future city
Through the Internet and social media, ask about the existence of what children like in the new neighborhood. It can be music classes, sports, scouts, and parks for kids. It will be a great way to get the kids to think about the move with positive anticipation.
Make memories
If this is also your residential move, it is very important to help the children create memories of the city they are moving from. Remind them of the good things they had in that home. View pictures and videos and create a photo album of memories. Support kids to start to make new memories in their new hometown.
Create a safe place for kids during a moving day
A good selection of residential movers for your move will ensure an easy and safe relocation. However, children should be additionally insured. Injuries during the moving day are a common occurrence and it will not be good if the injured is a child. So, make sure the child is in a stable place and is safe. A safe place can be an empty room in your home, a friend’s home, a neighbor who knows the child, or your relatives’ home.
Keep them entertained and engaged during all stages of the move
Children should be entertained during the entire moving process. Of course, everything is in accordance with their age.
Before the moving day
If the children are old enough, they can pack things from their rooms independently. They can also choose to bring what they like, and what is important to them. Even younger children can be entertained by letting them pack things that are lighter in weight and unbreakable.
How to keep kids happy during moving day
When moving, the eldest kids can be in charge of entertainment, so they can make a playlist to keep everybody motivated. This is a great idea for the road especially when family is moving internationally and the trip seems to be endless.
Have a party for the younger ones by using the empty space in the house. The absence of furniture will allow them to have their own dance party or bubble party. They can play with a ball without fear of breaking an expensive vase. Prepare a good children’s movie or arrange with one of your friends to take them to the park or for a walk.
Get back to your routine quickly after moving
If you are moving locally, agree with your child about joint unpacking upon arrival at the new home. A child should feel that he belongs to the family even in these difficult times. One of the most important things is to stick to a routine. For the child to adapt as soon as possible, old habits should be maintained in the new home. After you have settled into your new home, it will be good to spend more time with the children in getting to know the environment.
Now you know how to keep kids happy during moving day
Moving with children can be difficult, but not impossible. The most important thing is that the children are informed about the whole situation and that they remain involved in the relocation process from beginning to end. Now that you know how to keep kids happy during moving day, you should let them be sad after they know they’re moving, and then entertain them to make the sadness go away as soon as possible. Develop their imagination about their new home and all the good things that await them there.
