Moving into a new house can be stressful, not only for you but also for your child. Being a toddler is hard enough as kids can’t express themselves and their emotions properly through words but they feel it and hold on to it for a very long time; so much so that it may sometimes come off as the child being angry or irritable every now and then. Toddlers rely on their parents and caretakers to understand what they’re feeling without them having to spell it out for them. In order to make the transition from an old place to a new one easier, here’s what you do:
1. Start talking about it beforehand
Prepare them mentally at least a month before you actually move. When you talk about moving, use the term “new home” and tell good stories about the new neighborhood. If this is your child’s first big move, read them stories of fun and adventure of a similar category, “The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day” is a great book to help prepare them mentally.
2. Visit the new place
Visiting the new place is very important for your child. This will help them get over their initial anxiety about the unknown and also help you understand their stance, about whether they like it or hate it. It can also help if they initially hated the idea, they might come to like the new place.
After you have visited the new place, make a big deal out of it. Show them the small playground or the little garden they will have in the new home. Mention all the things that the new place will have and the old one doesn’t but make sure you don’t lie about it, for kids will hold on to every word you say and remember it even if you don’t.
3. Take Pictures
Before moving into a new house, make sure your child gets to say goodbye to the old one properly. Take pictures of all their favorite places and hiding spots in the house. If you have a scale drawn on the walls or carved into wood panels for measuring heights, take pictures of that as well. If you are moving to a new city or state, take pictures of their favorite playgrounds or ice-cream parlors and make a photo album of the captured memories, it will help your child stay connected and seek comfort in something that seems familiar.
4. Engage Them
When you start packing, engage them in the work with you. Ask them to pack their things with you, keep a separate box of their favorite things and don’t forget to label them as important. If you have hired professional movers to help you, let your child observe them and the organized way in which they work. Ask them to pick out everything they want to take, themselves. This will give them comfort and reassure them that everything they love is going with them. If the child feels unsure about putting their things in big boxes, assure them that nothing will get lost on their way to the new home. Keep their boxes with the ones you plan on unpacking first before moving into the new house.
5. Set Their Room Up First
Through each and every step, remember that your child needs consistency to feel secure so make sure that you set up their room first. No matter how frustrating it gets for you, you have to set up their room first to give them some space or place where they can sit or hide in if they feel too overwhelmed. Make sure they have their box of favorite things unpacked next to them. The next room that you should set up is your kitchen. Just the basic things like the fridge, water cooler and a few plates because your child will have very simple and basic needs: shelter and food. They will need you to be there or to take some time off for them.
The best thing that works with kids is consistency and fun. If you have to engage your child and make them a little happy, paint their room with them. Kids love colors and spending time together with parents in a fun safe environment. Don’t make it seem like work or they’ll get bored.
6. Keep the same routine
Just because you’re in your new home now, doesn’t mean you start making a lot of changes. Keep the same bed time, dinner time and waking up time. Do the same rituals you did at home like tucking your kid in and reading to them. This might seem a little hectic at times but make sure the child doesn’t feel neglected.
7. Keep in contact with the ones in the old neighborhood
Before you leave, get your child something that might remind them of their old place and people like photographs or a toy. After moving, if they had a friend in the old neighborhood, ask the friend’s mother to put their child on Skype and have your child talk to them.
Jenny Harrison is a passionate technology and lifestyle blogger. She loves to get engaged with the readers who are seeking for home, lifestyle and tech related information on the internet. She is a featured blogger at various high authority blogs and magazines in which she shared her research and experience with the vast online community. Currently associated with NYC moving company ‘All Around Moving Services Company Inc.’ Specializes in arranging and assembling services of professional and skilled local movers locally in New York City as well as areas in New Jersey, Connecticut and the Miami Dale area in South Florida for their blog operations. Follow her on twitter @MJennyHarrison for more updates.