Moving house during the school holidays is often unavoidable. People consider it to be a monumental challenge, as not only do you have to think about moving house, but you also have to try and balance managing your children during this process. However, moving house during the school holidays doesn’t have to be an upsetting task.
There are definitely things you can do to make sure that your children move house with you in the right way. It doesn’t have to be a problem, or even a stressful experience for them, as you can instead teach them about moving house and make it fun. Let’s talk about how you can do that.
Decluttering
If you want to move house in an easy way, then now is a good time to shift off all the junk that you’ve been keeping. If you don’t use it, there’s really no point having it. Decluttering will make your life a hundred times easier, so it’s well worth doing
Be Positive From the Start
The first thing that you should do when it comes to your kids and moving house is to be positive from the beginning.
Make sure they know weeks in advance that you’re going to be moving house, because this helps to create a familiarity with the situation. If you suddenly start trying to move house a week before you’re meant to go, your kids are going to be distressed and confused as to why the entire house is suddenly being boxed up.
Frame it as a positive thing from the outset, and teach them about the good points of moving house. There are benefits like having a brand-new room, or making friends with new children, or having a park nearby. If you create these positive details from the beginning, you make the idea of moving house much better.
Make Packing a Fun Game
Packing up your home is something that you’re going to have to do, and one of the best ways to make it an enjoyable activity for your children is to present it as a game. There are quite a few ways that you can do this. You can challenge them to pack things in the nicest way that they can, you can offer a reward for packing up, but the point of the exercise is to show them that packing doesn’t have to be an upsetting or troubling event.
Ultimately, packing is an activity which is going to have to take place one way or the other, so it’s probably better that your kids accept it and even get some enjoyment from the task.
Let Them Decorate
Once you have moved into your new home and the removal company van is unloaded, on that first day, the reality of what’s happening will set in for many children, and some can become upset at the idea that they won’t see their old room again. You can easily remedy this by drawing attention to one of the best things about moving house, and that is the fact that they get a whole new room.
Give your kids the freedom to decorate their new room, however, they like. Let them decide where to put pieces of furniture, toys, and help them create the room that they want. It will give them a much better sense of belonging, and they will settle in much faster. After all, it is their room, and their space, so if you help them, they will be much more appreciative.
Show Them Around
Unfamiliar places can be frightening to children, because they don’t understand that they are safe, even though they don’t know where everything is. The best thing that you can do is show them around the house once you’ve moved in. Show them your room, the bathroom, and every important space.
If you can, take them to visit the house before you move in, and show them where their own room will be. If you create familiarity with the area, then you help them to overcome some of their fears.
Be Kind
At the end of the day, you have to try and be kind to your children during the moving process. You have to remember that these are still young, impressionable people who don’t have the same life experiences that you do. They may not be able to deal with the situation as well as you can, because it is a departure from everything that is safe and familiar.
They will be looking to you to help make this transition safe and okay for them, so that must be your responsibility.
Final Thoughts
So, ultimately, moving house with your kids during the summer holidays is sometimes unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Children are quite resilient, and can adapt to any situation if you help them. Obviously, this is going to be a stressful period for you, but try not to forget that your kids need support too.
If you are kind, and you help them understand what’s happening, then they become a lot easier to manage while trying to move. After all, this is their life too, and it will be impacted by moving house. If you want that experience to be positive, and you want your move to be harmonious, then you have to put a bit of preparation work in. Take the time to show your kids where you will be moving into before you move, answer their questions, and be honest with them. Moving house doesn’t have to be scary or stressful, it can be a fun experience.