Help your Child settle into their new home
Moving house can prove to be a challenging time for kids. After the packing and moving is completed, they now need to adapt to their new surroundings. This may be difficult for children of all ages including teenagers. Leaving the familiarity of their old neighborhood can make them feel anxious. However, the excitement of moving into a new house and neighborhood may diminish the anxiety that they are going through. We’ve asked some of our customers on their thoughts and how they manage this and put together some pointers that hopefully helps make it easier when you’re moving with kids.
Take a Tour
Take the family for a tour around the house to get the family acquainted with the new space. Walk around the house together and discuss what each room is going to be, and also how the family is going to spend time together in certain spaces. Covering every room is encouraged to ensure children explore the new environment on their own time. A good idea is for the family to play a simple game of hide and seek or tag, where the game encourages the children to explore the space. Also, a trivia game about the new house can help them learn a bit more. For example, a question like “Which room is the largest?” or “Which room faces north?” Can offer a fun and engaging way in exploring and learning more about the house.
Pack an Essential Box for Everyone
Every member of the family is encouraged to pack some meaningful items in a personal essential box. The essential box can be packed with their favorite things like books, games, journals, pictures, or music. You can make it a point to unpack the essential box first. This will help with immediately having some familiar items around, even on the first night in your new home.
Unpack the kids’ room first
The kitchen is always the first to get unpacked and set up. After taking care of the kitchen, it would help if the kids’ rooms were unpacked next. Once the movers have unpacked the cartons, get your kids involved in putting their items away into the closets and cabinets. Let them suggest how they would like their room to look like, and if it is possible, accommodate minor changes to your initial plan. This will give them a feeling of ownership, and may help them settle into the new space slightly sooner.
Get back into routine as soon as possible
Give your kids a “holiday” from their normal routine, maybe for the first night in your new home to make it special. You may allow them to stay up a little later than usual, but getting back into routine fast is important. You should revert to the original bedtime, playtime, and mealtimes as soon as possible. This will help in restoring some normalcy after the chaos of moving. If the kids are used to visiting the park in the afternoons, make it a point to find the nearest park and start bringing them there. It may not be the same park, but it goes a long way in restoring their daily routine. You don’t want them feeling that your previous house was better and that they are missing out on certain things because you decided to move.
With all of the above said, we understand that you will be dealing with the move as well your kids, and its not going to be a walk in the park. Consider hiring a moving company to take care of the packing, moving and unpacking for you so that you have time for yourself.
