Moving With Kids

Made as easy as A, B, C.

Moving can be a stressful time for the whole family, especially kids.

The A B C to moving with kids are: timing and transition, getting them involved and entertained. Let’s keep your children happy and comfortable throughout the whole process with these easy tips:

 

Timing and Transition

It’s hard to say when the best time to move is, but consider the following things in order to make a happy, smooth transition for the whole family.

1. Consider the grades that your children are in. If your child is a senior in high school, it might be best to let them live with a relative to finish up their high school years with their friends. If your child is about to enter middle school, this is an ideal time to move as they are entering a new school either way.
2. Make the new home their own. Let your kids walk through the new house before the move. Maybe let them pick out their own room to make them feel like they are a part of the decision.
3. Stay connected to friends, neighbors, and family back home. Gather phone numbers, and arrange webcam time with your children’s friends when you move. Enabling them to keep in touch with their own friends makes the transition easier.
4. Adjust to the new home. Maybe host a party in your neighborhood and invite the neighborhood children. Take your kids for a drive around the neighborhood. Drive by their school, the local ice cream shop and other important spots to get them familiar with the new location. If you move during summer, sign your kids up for local activities like summer camp so they can meet new friends.

 

Get Them Involved

Keep your kids involved in order to make them feel like they are a part of the process and not just being forced along.

1. Have them arrange their own room. Draw out a floor plan of the rooms in the new house. Let your children make paper furniture and arrange what they want in their room, while you arrange the other rooms.
2. Encourage your kids to pack themselves so that they are involved in the moving process. They can have their own boxes and suitcases that they are responsible for. Give them color codes or fun stickers to stick on the boxes that belong in their room. You can oversee this.
3. Give each child a backpack to fill with overnight items so that you don’t have to dig through boxes.
   Include a toothbrush, pjs, favorite stuffed animal, favorite bedtime story, etc.
4. Then give them one box to pack freely that will be the first box that they open in their new room.
5. Give them a digital camera to take pictures of the move and send the pics to their old friends or post them on Facebook.

 

Entertainment

Here are some helpful tips to make moving a positive memory.
 

1. If your move involves a long road trip or plane ride, wrap things you were going to give your children anyway. Wrap up books, games, decks of cards, sticker books, puzzle books, joke books, reading books, crayons, etc. and when you make stops along your route, place the presents on the kid’s seats. When they come back to the car they will have an exciting gift to unwrap and play with! On a plane, give them a new “gift” each time a milestone is reached such as “We’re a quarter of the way there!” or “Halfway there!” This makes the process more exciting. Be sure to save some presents to give to them when you arrive at the new home.
2. Make their new empty room fun by hiding gifts in the closet. For example, wrap up that new bedspread that you were going to give them anyway and hide it in their new empty closet. For anything they were going to need new, just adding a little bow can turn it into a surprise present.
3. Happy kids are hunger-free kids. Be sure to have lots of healthy snacks for your moving day. Avoid juice boxes as they tend to explode. Instead pack bottles of water and juice bottles that you can recycle. Put aside favorite snacks like a jar of peanut butter and graham crackers.
4. Before the move, sit down with your child and map out your move. Show them where the new house is and let them follow along on the map as you make your way to your new home.
5. Babysitter not available moving day? Consider hiring a nanny during the move. This service keeps the little darlings safe, happy and entertained under the watchful eye of a modern day Mary Poppins, while you focus on the moving process.
6. Don’t throw items away. If you’re planning on getting rid of items the children no longer use, do not do it during moving time. The children will experience loss, and this is not the right time to throw out their things. Wait until you are settled in the new home. Or do the weeding a couple months in advance, so they don’t associate the two events together.

 

Don’t Leave Home Without

Keep these items handy during your move to keep everyone safe and happy:

1. Kleenex
2. Hand Sanitizer
3. Baby wipes
4. Extra zip lock bags
5. Medications
6. Personal Pillows
7. Phone numbers (the kennel, the new apartment complex, etc.)
8. Cell Phone Charger
9. Walking shoes
10. Sweater and Rain Jacket
11. Snacks and water

 

Nobody wants to be the new kid on the block.

We know that kids can get bullied when they’re new in town. NorthStar Moving was featured in an American Girl Movie which addresses the stress of moving on children and how to stand up to bullying. It’s a great resource to watch with your kids .
[note]] [[/note]

Need more than just tips?

NorthStar Moving has partnered with Nanny Poppinz to offer “The Angelina” package, ensuring that your children are well taken care of and leaving you to focus on your move.