Moving with children? It’s an enormous undertaking. We have the tips to help you reach your new home without losing your mind!
People move house for all kinds of reasons. Some might wish to settle down, some chase careers. And others need to upscale or downscale their living conditions in relation to their income stream. Or, some might work unique careers, such as military families who may have to move from base to base all over the world. Finally, some might just wish to live around the country and explore different states regularly.
If any of those scenarios sound like you, these moving interstate tips could be a great insight for you. However, most parents know that moves can be quite difficult for children. Regardless of the reason behind the relocation, moving with children can be physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing on the entire family.
Not only do the kiddos require time to settle back down, but restarting their life and social contacts can always leave them feeling like the outsider. This is why it can be absolutely essential to know how to care for and encourage your child during this stressful period. If you can do this, you can mitigate most of the damaging effects should there be any. After all, all children are different, and what works for one might not work for another. But with our advice, you’ll have the best chance of success.
3 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR MOVING WITH CHILDREN
Help Their Social Situation
One of the harder parts of a child moving from place to place is that they struggle to make any long-term friends in their new city. If they have no siblings and both parents are often busy, they can spend large amounts of time alone. This is not healthy for them. Unfortunately, it is a common lifestyle for many children around the world.
However, it can be remedied with careful action. You have to ensure that your child or children are given the chance to socialize with others outside of the schooling environment. Allowing them to join a club can be a worthwhile experience. For example, let us say that they have been attending Judo martial arts clubs for some time. Finding a similar place in your new environment could be a great idea. And that’s because they bring along that prior training and comfort within it. So they are able to make new friends through that platform.
Involving them in social hobbies could also work this way. For example, playing an instrument is often a social activity should they become able to join a band at school, or to do so with friends they might make. Allowing them to ask friends over for dinner, making time to celebrate birthday parties with friends, all of this matters to a child who might otherwise feel insecure with changing locations.
If you achieve this right, while the need to move can be quite saddening for them, you actually give them the tools to socialize with many different groups, perhaps with children who live within different cultures. This can be nothing but an enlightening experience for them, and will often help give them a world perspective. This can be a worthwhile effort for any parent to consider.
Take Care Of Yourself
This tip will sound contrary to common wisdom. Why? Well, consider the experience of a child. They rely on you for everything. You are their world. You are taking the anchor of their known experience from place to place, but also yours. This means that if you have little sleep, you eat poorly or you’re stressed all the time, you will pass all that down onto your children. You might not think you will – but you will. Even the most competent parent would. This leaves a few distinct and painful possibilities to consider.
One, that if you don’t take care of yourself, your child will lose the only safety blanket they could possibly keep while moving. Two, you will become much shorter with them, potentially very irate with them, and they will not be able to tolerate their negative emotions when moving as a result. This will only lead to heightened anxiety and bad feelings whenever a new move is booked. So, the process begins with you. Take care of yourself, and you will also take care of your children during this stressful time.
RELATED CONTENT: Make Moving Day as Simple as Possible
Communicate With Them
Children only know what you tell them, for the most part. If you do not give them details of where they are moving to, what the house will be like, what their new school could be, or why you’re moving in the first place, then it can be important to let them know. For example, moving to another job is a valid reason. But don’t tell them just how much more money you’re making (they don’t care!). Instead, share some positive things you could do with that money.
Show them pictures of their new school, or better yet take a trip and tour there, as well as exploring the surrounding environment. Take a few trips there, or walk around the town, or visit the house if you are able and let them see their room. If moving to another country, watch some films from that environment with them. For example, watching Studio Ghibli films could be a great idea if moving to Japan, to show how different the animation style is, yet also allowing them to feel comfortable within that space.
Remember – it might take some effort justifying this move to yourself, but the same goes for justifying it to your child. You need to really sell them on it for them to steward positive emotions, leaving everything they know behind. This means, in essence, you have to become their best and most trusted friend. They need to know that you are making the right decision. If you can do this, then they will have a much better time feeling happy about this change and seeing the positives in it.
Remember that children learn from the world around them. And they certainly absorb the atmosphere of a house this way, too. If you can consider this, then you can go about things in the right way.
With this advice, we hope you can tackle the huge task of moving with children–and still keep your sanity!