Anyone who’s ever moved to a new home knows just how stressful relocation can be. When you have kids, it’s even tougher, and if you don’t prepare properly for the big event, there’s a good chance you’ll be hiding in the corner drinking margaritas before 10 a.m. in a desperate bid to cope with the process.
If you want to avoid this particularly nasty form of torture and ensure your kids get through your next move unscathed, check out these tips for relocation when you’re a mommy:
Get the Kids Involved
Moving is extremely distressing for kids. They have to move whether they like it or not and this can result in feelings of powerlessness. It is, therefore, very important that you do whatever you can to get them involved and give them some agency over their life. Asking them how they would like to decorate their new room is one of the simplest ways of doing this, just make sure you follow through with their ideas as best you can and they're so thrilled with their new space that many of their worries will melt away.
Clear the Clutter
If you don’t want to spend half your life packing up your stuff, and you want to ensure the removalists have as easy a job as possible, take the opportunity to unburden yourself of all that clutter your kids have amassed, but never show any interest in. Be very careful not to throw out any of their treasured toys, but ditch or donate all those bears, building blocks and pieces of plastic they never so much as glance at anymore.
Pay Someone to Pack
If you want to avoid the stress of packing for your move completely, pay a professional to do it for you and spend some quality time with your kids. You’ll be able to ensure your stuff is packed correctly and keep the kids getting in the way, which means the whole process will go by much more smoothly.
If you can’t afford to pay a professional, you could enlist a few friends to help you with the process, for the price of a few beer and burgers.
Take a Vacation
If you are relocating long distance, why not use the time between your stuff leaving your current home and moving to a new one to take a mini family vacation. Book a couple of days in a family-friendly resort and you’ll all have so much fun that the kids won’t be worried about the move and you’ll dodge the worse of the mover’s stress completely.
Settle the Kids First
Upon arrival at your new home, before you do anything else, unpack your kid’s stuff, so that they are surrounded by some familiar things, like their favorite toys and bedding. Placing their stuff in their new room will also stop them from begging you for the biggest room in the house which is one problem you don’t need when you’re getting your new home ready.
Once you’ve done that, unpack the kitchen because it’s only a matter of time before your little darling goes on the prowl for something good to eat.
Moving with kids is never easy, but if you let your kids know you understand their pain and you do what you can to make it feel better, along with some prudent planning, it doesn’t have to be so traumatic.
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