Relocation can be everything from a riveting to a relentless experience. Adding children of any age to this equation can easily be taken from smooth sailing to stressful. To avoid this, there are a few useful tips to consider. Firstly, children do not have to be a hindrance whilst you are moving house. Incorporating them in the process and viewing them as additional helping hands can be a productive solution when undergoing removal procedures.
The prices of locating removal services and carrying out removals in London can be a staggering investment of time, energy and money in itself. The following points will lessen the load.
Packing the majority of the children’s belongings first, (bedroom furniture, clothing, toys, footwear, photos, accessories etc.) will result in two great, preliminary outcomes:
1) The chance of overlooking every detail is minimised
2) Stress is immediately decreased as a child/children tend to have less belongings in general than their parents. Packing the important things beforehand will give more time to allocate to your own belongings and will also allow you to remain organised for all other aspects of moving.
Involvement of your children should begin with a moving checklist. There could be two or multiple separate lists; one for yourselves as parents and the other for the child/children. As kids tend to love games, dependent on their age range, this is a great opportunity to introduce these responsibilities and even reward them in ways to take their minds off the whole process and keep them from obstructing your move.
When the checklist is complete, one or both parents can double-check to confirm the contents and actions, whilst making sure that the important things that the children may have missed are accounted for. Giving the kids the responsibility of packing their own boxes to take in the car or the removal van with them is also a great idea, as they can keep their closest toys or favoured items close to their heart. Involving the children in stacking their boxes and labelling is also a great idea. Keeping in mind that you do not want additional mess, decorative labels can be created by the children in advance of the move, which will gradually warm them up to the idea as the moving process will be something that they are a part of and are even looking forward to. Anything from stickers, glitter, felt tip pens, post it notes, crayons, markers and paint- washable paint of course- can be utilised to make this a ‘fun’ experience, as moving away from friends and areas of familiarity is daunting for individuals of any age. Children can easily be occupied for hours on end with arts and crafts, so why not incorporate this into moving to take the weight off your shoulders? It is a highly busy environment when clearing out a household, including everything from cleaning up to moving furniture. Ensuring that the children are not in the way will make for a more straight forward move.
Introducing ‘timing’ to the child/ children’s checklist and the general moving process is also helpful. Alongside whichever game that you do choose for your child/children to be involved in, giving time limits will help you in knowing when to expect them, and in turn, help them stay focused and stay engrossed by the allure of the game itself. Emphasis on timing will also help with the general order of the house ensuring that daily routine such as eating, homework and bedtime, do not get interrupted.
Keeping all of the above in mind will minimise the pressure of a move for all of the family.
