The stress you feel when moving house probably starts long before your actual moving day. There’s the anxiety of making the actual decision, often followed by growing tension as moving day approaches.
Even if you look upon the move as an exciting, positive event in your life, consider that your children might not be as happy about leaving the home they already know as you would hope. While you won’t be able to completely eliminate their anxiety, you can do some things to make the move less traumatic.
If you need some help with storing items during the moving process, visit us at Browning Park Mini Storage in Benton, AR.
Here are some suggestions to keep your family positive during the move.
Discuss the Move with the Whole Family
One of the most important ways to help your children adopt a positive attitude about your move is to bring them into discussions about it. Make sure to honor their feelings, but explain the reasons for the move in language that’s geared toward their ages and attitudes.
Share your own feelings as well. Perhaps you’re somewhat nervous about the move, but you understand why it’s the right decision. Share all of that with your children.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
Even if you’re somewhat fearful about the move and you explain those feelings to your children, emphasize the positive reasons for doing this. Be a model for your children. If you act like an angry teenager, then your children will have more trouble adapting to the changes that they’re facing.
Involve Your Children in Moving Tasks
Make your children feel like an important part of the process. For example, ask your children to go through their belongings to decide what they’ll keep and what they’ll get rid of.
Turn this activity into a teaching opportunity. Explain that this is a great time to think about other children who are less fortunate than they are. Convince your children to earmark items for donations – toys they no longer play with and clothing they’ve outgrown. Explain how happy other children would be to receive these items.
Your children can also be involved in other chores to prepare for the move, such as cleaning items, packing boxes, and performing other tasks that will contribute to the move. Be sure that your children understand how valuable their help is.
Involve Children in Logistics
Let your children sit down with you when you prepare the documents needed to register them at their new school. If the new school is within driving distance, take them to visit the new school before you move into that neighborhood.
Stick to Your Normal Daily Routine
Disrupting your children’s daily routine could make them anxious. There will obviously be activities that are move-related, but keeping daily activities as normal as possible will help keep your children calm. If you normally eat dinner together as a family, continue to do that. If you normally spend time together at bedtime, continue that as well.
Kids First
In your new home, set up the rooms for your children first. Sleeping in their own beds and having their own toys around them will give them a feeling of security that will help them adapt to their new situation.
Maintain Connections
If your new home is close enough, set up dates in the old neighborhood with your children’s old friends or have them visit your children in your new home. Staying connected, at least for a while, will give your children a sense of continuity. As they make new friends, their need for their old friends will likely decrease little by little.
These steps can help your children understand the situation more clearly and hopefully get excited about your new living situation. You might find yourself more energized about your move.
Let Us Help
We at Browning Park Mini Storage in Benton, AR, can help you with moving. And if you need to store items temporarily as you stage and sell your current home, check out our storage spaces. Come by for a visit.