Guest Blogger, Brooke Chaplan
Leaving your home and establishing a new one is a life-changing experience. What surprises will pop up? Will your belongings get damaged or lost? What are you forgetting? How do you choose a reliable moving company? How will your children handle the transition? Below are a few steps you can take in order to make your move less stressful.
Create a Basic Action Plan
Keep a list of questions and concerns. You can find some local moving services by asking trusted friends, looking up companies online, and making phone calls. Visit each office to check out what they offer, how they talk to you, how flexible they are, how clean their place is, and their understanding of how much the upcoming move will impact your family.
Relying on Professional Movers
Local movers know how much the personal touch matters. They recognize that children experience moving differently from adults because they don’t fully understand what is going on and normally depend on grownups to problem-solve and keep them safe. Roller coaster emotions are going to be normal, especially for your children, so don’t be shy apologizing if you lose your composure!
Make Necessary Preparations
Kids know when something’s going on, so don’t be secretive about the move. Children need to feel included, not excluded. Share information with older children in advance. Let younger children know later, and keep it simple.
You can even consider creating a family scrapbook for everyone to share the experience. Give each child a small box for personal belongings to carry on the trip and let them decorate their boxes with stickers.
Your children will feel more secure if you pack their rooms last. Clearly label their items for quick access. Many children feel reassured being given simple tasks to help.
Whenever possible, include your pets in the moving process. Helping your child clearly understand that their pets are being carefully moved will help put them at ease. Pets will be therapeutic in helping your kids adjust as well.
If possible, arrange a visit to the new home so everyone can imagine themselves living there, and provide photos. For closure, visit favorite places and people together. Enjoy a comfortable dinner or a simple goodbye party so the moving process is positive.
On The Way
On moving day, have a caretaker or family member stay with your kids while you handle last-minute details. Make sure that your children have access to interesting picture books, reading material, their favorite music, or games. Making sure that the trip to your new home is exciting will help them stay relaxed about the situation.
Author Bio
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
