Moving House with Children

Moving is known as being a particularly stressful event at the best of times, but if you have kids it can be very challenging and upsetting for them. With a bit of planning and preparation though moving house with your children doesn’t have to be a stressful affair.

Call in the professionals

The best option for moving home is to engage professional removals services. You may think that it is going to cost a lot of money, but in reality they will save you time and money, breakages and an enormous amount of stress. It’s very hard to put a price on that combination when moving home. Getting in a removals services company will help you manage large furniture items and give you advice on how to prepare family heirlooms and breakables for moving day. Some removal companies will even pack everything up for you, and if you have moved before, that aspect sounds like bliss.

Let kids pack their own things

Giving children who are old enough the responsibility for their own stuff will keep the anxiety to a minimum. It can also be therapeutic for kids to go through their belongings, throw out or give away things they no longer want and, although it might not be the most organised or beautifully packed box, it gives them a feeling of importance. When you arrive at the new house, make sure that their room is the one that is set up first. Make a point of putting up their curtains and blinds and help them make their beds so all they need to do is unpack and they can start settling into their new environment immediately. You can also send them to happily play in their room out of your way whilst you tackle the rest of the house.

Organise a fun outing

On the day that you move house, it may be a good idea to get the kids off to a friend, grandparent or babysitter to take them out to the movies or plan a fun activity for them so they are not in the middle of a stressful logistics environment. When the movers start arriving and boxes start being loaded it can get quite overwhelming and at worst, your kids might feel stress and at the least, get in the way. If possible, have them arrive at the new house later on when most of the major moving activity is over and their rooms are, for the most part, set up. It will feel more like an exciting adventure and less like an overwhelming event.

Help your kids prepare

Before the big move, chat to your kids, take them to visit the new house, engage them and talk to them about how they feel about moving and make it an open subject for the family to discuss. Let them ask questions and make it exciting. For instance, allowing them to choose the paint colour or curtains for their new room will make it feel less scary to them as they have been given the opportunity to feel like they are involved in making the changes to their surroundings.

Don’t forget the grub

When you are moving home and hassled, the last thing on your mind is food, juice and snacks. Everything is packed away and kids who are thirsty and hungry are going to get whiny and grumpy. Get some boxed juice and some paper cups and some snacks and sandwiches as well as paper plates. It’s going to stress you out if you have to start searching through boxes looking for cutlery and crockery.

Here at Harradines we offer a comprehensive removals and storage service and are dedicated to making the process of moving home as simple, straight forward and stress-free as possible! For more information on our domestic removals services in Bromley, get in touch with the professionals at Harradines today!