How to Make Moving Less Stressful For Your Kids

Moving tends to be a stressful process for everyone involved. But as overwhelming as it might feel, you can be certain it’s just as bad for your kids, if not even worse. They have to leave their familiar environment and potentially friends behind, which can cause them a lot of sorrow. Depending on your child, the prospect of moving to a new environment and meeting new people may also cause them anxiety.

For these reasons, involving children in the moving process is a great idea. As Nancy Zafrani, general manager of Oz Moving & Storage, says: “Moving is stressful for kids because their environment is changing and they don’t have any control over it. Making them part of the process helps with this problem.”

With this in mind, here’s six strategies for involving your kids in the moving process…..

6 Ways to Make Moving Fun For Kids

1. Have Them Decorate the Boxes

If you want to make sure your kids have something to do while you handle more important things, this is one of the best ways to keep them busy and involved. Hand them marker pens, some decorative tape, and stickers, and let them have their fun with the boxes. If you want to make it a little more challenging, tell them the decorations need to match what goes inside the box. Considering how important creative activities are for children, this allows you to kill two birds with one stone.

2. Enlist Their Help For Decluttering

You may think that your children would only get in the way of this, but that’s not necessarily true. Give your kids two boxes and tell them one is for the things they want to keep and one for those they want to give away.

Reassure them that all their belongings in the first box will definitely still be there in the new home; and that the ones in the second box will make other kids happy. Just don’t force them to part with anything they’re really attached to, as that is likely to make things worse.

3. Throw a Little Moving Party

Despite everything, your children may still be sad about leaving all the places they love behind. If so, before the move happens, spend a day with them going around town. Visit their favorite restaurants, landmarks, and other venues to say goodbye properly. This will help further cement the positive memories they have with each.

You can even have them invite their friends to make the day that much more memorable. Be sure to take some photos of everything as well, unless your kids are already doing that.

4. Let Them Create a Moving Diary

Give your kids a journal or scrapbook and tell them to record the whole moving process. Even better, hand them a camera or cell phone (if they don’t already have one) so they can take photos of everything. You can then print out these photos so they can be glued onto the diary pages.

Making this diary will be a fun activity for your children throughout the entirety of the move. Moreover, it will serve as a great way for them to look back at all the fond memories they made in their old home.

You can easily combine this activity with some of the others on this list as well. If the kids decorated the moving boxes, have them include some pictures. If you went around town to visit their favorite spots, tell them to write down why they love these places so much.

5. Take Them to Explore the New Neighborhood

Once you’ve safely arrived in your new home, take your kids on a walk to explore the area. They might feel a little anxious about their new surroundings, so by strolling around with them, you can allow them to familiarize themselves with everything.

Stop at parks and playgrounds, or maybe pass by the school if they’ll be attending a different one. Greet your new neighbors and any other children you encounter along the way. For the most fun, pretend like you yourself don’t know the area yet. That way, it will feel all the more like an adventure for your kids.

6. Allow Them to Decorate Their Own Rooms (A Little)

The move is over once you, your kids, and your belongings have safely arrived. But it will no doubt take time for all of you to adjust.  Your children will have to create a comfort level in their new room rooms.  Involve them in the furnishing and decorating process, if possible.  You will make the final decisions, but they might enjoy offering input and could present some cool ideas that perhaps you didn’t think of.  You want it to feel like a welcoming space with a touch of their personality.

For example, you can let them pick the color of their walls. To prevent any bad picks, simply present them with a selection of colors you decided on previously. They will feel as if they made the decision by themselves.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, the six methods offered some helpful tips on how to ease into a move with your kids. The most important parts are to keep them busy with fun tasks and make it a team effort as much as possible.  No doubt you will make new, exciting memories in your new home and that is something for all of you to look forward to.

Tags: moving with kids