6 Tips to Prepare Your Kids For a Long-Distance Move

There are several tips that you can use to prepare your kids for a long-distance move.

1. Involvement

Make sure that you involve the kids in the entire process of moving. It can be easy to overlook your children in this process when you are trying to find a new home, packing up all of your things, and coordinating with the moving company. Just a small task can make a big difference in the feelings that the child will have toward the new home.

2. Time

Use the time to your advantage. There are some cases when you are going to have a lot of time to prepare for the move, but then there are times you won’t be able to fit anything in your hectic schedule. It means that you are going to need to give the children as much information as you can about the move and the new home when it is possible.

As early as possible, let your child know about your moving plans.

3. Neighborhood

Take the children to visit the community that you are planning on moving to in the future. If you have the opportunity, it might also be a good idea to check out the area that surrounds the place and the new school that the children are going to be attending. If you pick up the local newspaper, you should be able to find some kid-friendly activities that might be going on during your visit.

4. Moving company

Ask if the moving company offers kid-friendly services. Most of the time, the moving day is going to be very hectic when you are trying to coordinate with the moving company. You might easily overlook the children as they feel left out of the process. But some moving companies are going to do certain things so that the children are going to feel like they are involved.

You can keep your child entertained by giving them something to play with.

5. Party

Plan and host a goodbye party. There are a lot of things that the children are going to fear when they are moving. Some of these things might include moving to a new neighborhood, their final day at school, and starting a new school. By hosting a party, it will help the children to get some closure when they are leaving their old friends and home behind. 

6. Changes

Try to minimize the changes that are going to happen before you move into the new house. The best way to do this is to keep things in the new home as familiar as it can be. It might be a good idea to set up the furniture in their bedroom the same way that it was in the old home. You could also make sure that you have the same routines when it comes to getting up in the morning, having breakfast, or just the typical tasks that you have been doing in the old home.