This year has been full of disruptions to our normal routine. While it affects everyone in one way or another, disruptions to routine are extra tough on kids. If you’re planning a move anytime soon, it’ll be another significant change to their daily routine, so we’ve put together a short guide to help make moving with kids a better experience for all the family.
The key to making your move as stress free as possible is to plan ahead, talk to your kids about it and involve them in the process.
If you have the luxury of time to plan your move, involve your kids right from the start. The sooner they get used to the idea that you’re planning to move, the easier it will be. If you can time your move for the school holidays or a long weekend, you’ll save everyone from the added pressure of getting them to and from school, or trying to manage their homework on top of moving.
While we might think having our kids around will make moving harder, getting them involved will actually make everything go more smoothly. Put your kids in charge of sorting out their room for packing, give them useful jobs like looking after the pets, or other jobs like getting them to help you label boxes, listing what each one contains. Not only does this make unpacking easier, it’ll help with their spelling.
The added advantage of moving during the school holidays is there is usually less traffic on the road, which makes commuting back and forth much quicker. Although, hiring movers is still the fastest and least disruptive way to move house.
The settling period also takes time, so having the school holidays to give your kids time to adjust will also make their move easier. It’ll give everyone time to explore the neighbourhood, work out how they’re going to get to school next term, and settle into a new routine before life gets busy again.
If your kids have to start at a new school, having the clean break between terms will also help them adjust when school resumes as they’ll be starting schoolwork at the same time as other kids. Anything you can do to reduce or minimise disruption will help make moving with kids easier for everyone.
Feel free to contact us if you want more information about moving with kids.
