When tackling a move of any distance, you need to take the time to properly prepare yourself and your household for not only your relocation itself but the journey in front of you and the emotions that come with making a move.

This can be especially difficult when it comes to moving with children, especially young ones, or when you’re moving with a child over a long distance. After all, they will probably initially see a move as you uprooting their home and safe space without good reason, and they might need time to properly process this big change, or might need extra explanation and preparation to get them through this time. Moving with a child out of state or just even to a new neighborhood can be a huge deal for them, especially if it means leaving their friends or school behind.

Unfortunately, sometimes moves have to happen, whether any of us like them or not! Moving can mean better opportunities or environments for you and your kids alike, and they’ll need to do their best to adapt and understand the reason for this relocation.

Moving With Children

When it comes to moving with your kids, you’re probably wondering how to make moving easier for a child, or just how to prepare them for a move of large or short distances alike. The key to moving with kids is to have the right timeline in place to give them a good amount of notice, and to allow them to react, think things through, and begin to open up to the idea. Looking for the best tips for moving with children? Learn more about how to make moving easier for children and how to prepare your kids for a move with our great tips.

How to Tell Kids About Moving

Let’s be real: if you don’t use the best method or strategy to break the news of a move to your kids, things can quickly go south – and you certainly don’t want to deal with the stress of packing and moving with an upset child. Before we get into the best ways to break the news of a move to a child, don’t forget to always stay empathic when it comes to your child’s adjustment to the news of a move and the process itself. Put yourself in their shoes, and try to be there for them as much as possible.

To break the news of a move to your child or children, you should always tell them as soon as possible so that they have plenty of time to adjust to the idea and process of moving, and have time to let out their emotions or worries surrounding the move.

Of course, it’s normal to be worried about how your child will react, or how they might adjust to a new neighborhood, school, or even state as a whole. After all, for you, this is a move that brings new opportunities and prospects, but for them, their entire world is being turned upside down. They’ll be taken away from everything familiar to them, and away from friends and sometimes other family members – which can be hard to adjust to for anyone.

Some of the best ways to prepare your kids for a move is by…

    • Telling Them ASAP: As we said prior, tell your kids as soon as you know you’re going to be moving, They’ll know something is up anyway if you try to keep it from them, and this can bring mistrust and a negative reaction. Keep them included and provide open communication and support to them during what can be a very stressful process.
    • Including Them: One of the best ways to prepare your children for a move is by providing them with plenty of details surrounding their move, especially if they’re older. Make sure they know where you’re headed, the date of your move, and what the packing and moving process are going to be like as a whole.

Also, keep them updated on what your housing situation will look like and what your new neighborhood has to offer them.

    • Getting Them Excited!: Getting your kids excited about your move can make things infinitely easier for you and then when it comes to tackling the moving process. Find new fun things about your future area or home for them to look forward to, or generally try to get their spirits up with the prospect of new friends and experiences.
    • Answering Their Questions & Making Them Feel Heard: When it comes to moving with kids, you should always open yourself up to honestly answer any questions they might have and allow them space to express any emotions or feelings they might have about the situation.

Letting them talk about how they’re feeling and being able to reassure them will make both them and you feel better about the entire process and about the prospect of a big transition like this – especially if you’re moving to a new state or completely new area.

    • Helping Them Process: Along with allowing them to have the space they need to process a transition like this, your kids can be helped out a lot during this process by just having the opportunity to talk through their emotions with you. After all, especially if they’re on the younger side, they made not even know how to process or understand the big emotions they could feel in connection to your move.

For particularly small children, try to use things like books, their favorite TV shows or movies, or music to help them understand and recognize their emotions, and try to let them talk through things with you. This will let them process while also leaving them feeling reassured about the entire process.

How to Pack for a Move with Kids

Once you’ve told your kids about your move and have helped them process and adapt to the idea of moving to a new area, it’s time to tackle the packing process – with your kids.

Packing can be tough enough as is, but keeping yourself and your items organized while also keeping track of your kids or bad attitudes can be overwhelming for anyone. Here are some tips to get through the packing process and how to help your kids pack for a move.

When it comes to tackling the process with kids in the picture, you’ll want to…

    • Start Packing Early.

When it comes to packing for a move with your entire family, you’ll want to quite literally start packing as early as possible for your relocation. Don’t get caught with a week to go and with nothing done – start slow and steady and keep things low-stress while packing as much as possible around everyone’s existing routines.

    • Make a Packing Strategy.

Try to enlist the help of your kids to make the moving process fun and easy. Create a strategy to keep things low-stress, while also having your older kids help in the packing process by having everyone pack up certain items little by little day by day. This can also help your kids get excited about your move!

    • Declutter.

You’ll want to both carry out not only the regular decluttering process for your items and your home to make your move easier, but may want to take a sneakier or undercover approach when it comes to decluttering items that your kids might have gotten attached to that isn’t actually of need or use.

Remember, we’re not telling you here to throw out your kids’ things, but we’re talking about the random junk kids and adults alike tend to acquire that won’t do you any good to move.

    • Make a To-Do List.

Keeping yourself organized by having a to-do list will keep you and your move on track. Just make sure to remember to mark off what you’ve actually gotten squared away! Try to do what you can to check things off your list while your kids are away or at school – things will go much faster when you can keep the focus on what needs to be done!

    • Keep Your Kids on a Schedule.

Having your kids continue in their regular routines will do wonders for you and them alike. It will keep stress and anxiety low and will keep your kids feeling secure and not off-kilter during your move.

    • Keep it Light!

In the same realm as keeping your kids on the same schedule, try to alleviate stress and keep things fun and light with them. Take them out for ice cream, get them excited about your move, and make a little extra time for some one-on-one outings with them to make them feel a little better.

    • Stay Organized.

This goes for any move, but staying organized is even more important when it comes to packing and moving with kids. Color code boxes, label them, and make sure no one’s stuff gets mixed in with anyone elses. This will keep tensions low and will make unpacking everyone’s respective rooms much easier.

As a parent, making the moving process go smoothly for not only yourself but your children as well is of course your priority. Moving with children might not always be the smoothest process, but staying prepared and allowing them a safe space to express their thoughts and feelings will make a world of difference in your entire moving process.

Looking for movers who will take care of your and your family’s items over any distance? Discover what Reebie Storage & Moving Co. can do for you today.