Moving can be a stressful event for adults, but often times the youngest members of the family feel the most anxiety. These tips can help you to prepare your children for moving to a new home and assist you in making it a positive experience:
Tell them right away – Plan a family meeting and explain that you will be moving. Give as many details as you can: Why you are moving. Where you are moving. When you expect to be moving. Leaving it open ended with little details can be confusing for younger children and the often feel like any day could be the day that they will be expected to leave their home.
Explain the process – Believe it or not, many children feel that when they move all of their prized possessions stay with your home. Just as children often believe that the items that they see in a home while at an Open House stay with the home, they believe that their toys and bed will belong to the child that lives in your current home after them. Give them a brief rundown on how home showings will work and what their responsibilities will be in preparing for them. We always love to enlist the “help” of your child with selling your home by giving them tasks that they can do to assist us with the sale.
Avoid packing beloved items – If at all possible, delay packing a child’s favorite items until the very end of the process. The longer we can keep the day to day routine consistent the better it will be. Involve your child with the packing process as well as the purging process that often happens before a move.
Involve them in the new home purchase – Older children can me more involved with the viewing of potential homes and neighborhoods. Their input can be valuable and allowing them to express opinions will make them feel a part of the decision making. Younger children can visit your new hometown and view it as a tourist and see fun things to do and places to see.
Help them say goodbye – Moving away from school and friends can be stressful for children of all ages. Plan a moving party and allow friends to visit them to wish them well and plan time after the move so they can see them again.
Unpack their room first – On moving day, make it a priority to assemble their bed and unpack their toys. Having everything as close to “normal” as possible will make the day go smoother.
Pick your battles carefully – Packing, moving and leaving friends and family can bring anxiety to children of all ages. Staying up later, pizza for breakfast or wearing their Haloween costume on moving day may be something that is normally unacceptable but may be a little easier to tolerate during move.
We hope that these tips are helpful and make moving day a bit more enjoyable for everyone.
Susan Brewer Service First Real Estate (636)936-8600
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