15 Top Tips for Moving With Kids

Moving house with kids? Here are 15 tops tips for moving with kids to make your life easier and reduce the stress of moving.

 Moving house is a big life event and whilst children are usually very adaptable, there are several things you can do to make moving easier for them. Once you get them on board with the whole moving process, they may even be excited about heading to a new home.

We’ll cover 15 things you should always do when moving with kids to make your life easier. This includes what you should do:

Before Moving Day
On Moving Day
Once you Arrive In Your New Home

This post is all about moving with kids.

Before Moving Day

Tip 1: Explain what's happening

Parents will make decisions and kids are usually expected to fit in and get on with it. However, when it comes to moving, you don’t want to blindside your kids last minute that everything is about to change.

Explain to your kids early on in the process that you will be moving and the changes that will start happening.

You should frame this in a positive light, explaining all the benefits of moving, such as a new exciting area with lots of fun activities in the neighbourhood. This way your kid is more likely to view moving as an exciting event.

If you are feeling super anxious and stressed about moving to your new home, try not to appear panicked when explaining to your kids. If they sense you don’t think moving is a great idea, they’ll likely think the same !

Age matters

It can be easier to explain what’s happening to older children, such as teenagers. However, for younger children, they might not fully understand and feel anxious about moving and leaving their home. Try to explain to them as best you can and begin to get them involved in the process from the beginning.

There are also fun children’s books about moving house. These might be helpful to read to your children at bedtime to help them understand the upcoming move.

Tip 2: Get the children involved

Visit the property

See if you can take your kids to visit your new home before moving in, particularly their new bedroom. It will help them visual what their new home will be like and they can get excited about planning their new bedroom layout. For example, you could encourage them to make a poster or choose a colour to paint their bedroom.

Allocate each child a moving box

Allocate each child a moving box that they can put their special toys or items that are important to them. This box should either travel with the children in the car on moving day or put in the removals van last. These boxes can then be taken out first from the van, so the children have their boxes as soon as they arrive in their new home.

Your kids may also like to help with labelling the boxes, colour coding them, or making decorative lists of what’s in each box.

Tip 3: Provide reassurance when moving with kids

Children like routine. They want to feel safe and comfortable in familiar surroundings. It will take some children time to process change, so being patient and willing to answer all their questions will help.

Reassurance is key. Some things you can provide reassure on are:

• The exciting new things from moving. E.g nicer area, getting their own bedrooms, larger garden, near family, new parks etc
  
  
• All their toys and favourite items are coming with them
  
  
• Your kids may ask about their school and friends. Reassure them that there will be lots of new friends to make and they can keep in touch with their old friends regularly and see them during the school holidays/at weekends
  

Tip 4: Be prepared for emergencies when moving with kids

Remember to find out before you move the details of:

• the local GP surgery
• local chemist and late night chemist
• how far you are from the nearest hospital with an accident and emergency department. Make sure you know how to get there !

You should also keep a first aid box to hand that is stocked with essentials.

Moving Day

Tip 5: Childcare for moving day

The easiest solution would be for a family member or friend to look after your children on moving day. If you’re lucky, the children will be at school, so they will be out for the whole day and return home to their new property.

If you don’t have someone to look after your children, it is important to plan in advance. Making some small changes can make a huge difference to both you and your children (see below). 

Tip 6: Caring for babies

Moving with a baby calls for a lot of patience as you will be interrupted with feeding times and dealing with your baby. Keep a separate box for all your baby’s items that will travel with you.

Tip 7: Make use of older children

Older children may be happy to help out on moving day by carrying things and moving items about. However, keep in mind that this is when accidents can occur, so it may be best to keep their participation to a minimum. Leave the heavy work to the experienced removals people.

It is also best from the start to allocate one person to be responsible for looking after the younger children on the day. This way nobody can say, ‘I thought you were looking after them …’ ,  which is when the arguments start. Alternatively, take it in turns to look after the children but just make sure it’s clear who is doing what.

Remember, the doors and windows will be open on moving day. Children can easily wander off in the chaos, so make sure they are supervised at all times and confined to one area of the house.

Tip 8: Distraction techniques when moving with kids

Keeping younger children occupied is crucial as there will be a lot of strangers in the house. A new toy, games, or watching a film can help keep your kids happy.

Tip 9: Refreshments

Keep a separate box accessible for refreshments, favourite snacks, food, disposal cups, plates, cutlery, and napkins. This can be very helpful when moving with kids, as they will likely get hungry at some point.

Tip 10: Don't forget medicines

Remember to pack any children’s medications and set alarms on your phone if necessary. It’s easy to forget when the house is in chaos and you have a hundred and one things to remember.

Once You Arrive In Your New Home

Tip 11: Safety first when moving with kids

It is vital to child proof your new home straight away. As soon as you arrive check the property and garden for any hazards, and make sure there are locks on the gates and doors.

• Blind cords dangling down. This can be a serious hazard!
• Electrical sockets
• Staircase not secure
• Rubbish left behind/sharp objects in the garden
• Window openings. How easily can they be opened? Are there any safety locks on the upper floor windows?
• Is the fireplace safe and secure?

Tip 12: Invite family around

Inviting family around to visit after the move can help comfort children by surrounding them with familiar faces. Family members can also help with unpacking and settling into your new home.

Tip 13: Keep the routine

Try to keep the same routine (meal times, bedtimes etc) in your new home to avoid disrupting your children's daily habits. 

Children might be anxious for the first few nights in a strange house with different sounds and smells. Keeping a night light on in the house will be helpful for young children.

Remember to be patient and as you gradually settle, your children will begin to settle too and adapt to their new surroundings.

Tip 14: Help them become familiar with their new surroundings 

Take supervised walks with your children around the area, so they can become familiar with the road layouts, where the shops are, and nearest parks etc.

If they are walking to school or getting public transport, make a few trial runs and point out places of interest so your children can use these as markers for navigating their way.

Make sure your children also learn their new address and postcode by heart in case they ever get lost. 

Tip 15: Avoid snapping as much as possible when moving with kids

Moving can be a very stressful process and taking out all your frustrations on everyone else is unlikely to end well. Try to be as patient as possible, especially as your kids will be trying to process all the change that’s happening.

Keep in mind that if you’ve moved to a brand new area, this can be more challenging for kids to process, as they may be missing their old school or friends. If this is the case, some extra patience can go a long way. 

And that's it ! You've reached the end of our 15 top tips. 

This post was all about moving with kids.

If you found this helpful, you can view our upcoming content on our coming soon page to see what's next !