Thursday, June 25, 2015

Relocating with Kids?

Here’s some advice for a smooth transition, from one parent to another.
By Laura Kelly
Storage King Ipswich, QLD

Moving with kids, surely I am not the only parent who has ever found this insanely stressful? Whether you are relocating interstate, to a neighbouring suburb or even just up the road, moving with kids in general is incomprehensibly stressful (especially if you have no one to baby sit for you).
In October 2013 my partner and I decided to embark on a HUGE life changing adventure…. Moving our family from Adelaide to South East Queensland. Before this we had only ever moved locally from suburb to suburb and that was stressful enough. Here is some of the knowledge I have learnt from my customers and from each time we have moved, so that we could eventually move interstate pretty much hassle free with the kids (a miracle I know).

Pack:
Let’s start off with the daunting task of packing (cue Darth Vader music). Packing with kids, need I say more? Actually, we could probably call it “unpacking with children”.

Some things you can do to make it easier and to partially entertain kids while you pack are:
Buy a few extra boxes and let the kids decorate them with crayons and stickers (NOT glitter oh goodness NO!). Once they have decorated them they can pack some of their favourite toys to keep aside to have access to as soon as you arrive at your destination.
A few weeks out from the move pack away the cups, plates, bowls, spoons, knives and forks, but let the kids pick one of each to keep out as theirs to use until you move. Pack the rest, wipe out the cupboards and place butcher paper down where the saved utensils will go. This will save so much time leading up to the stressful parts of your move. It will also help your kids to start living minimally before you pack absolutely everything away.
A huge general packing tip (that will also save you hours of insanity looking for the kid’s favourite teddy bear, or your favourite wine glass) is numbering your boxes and keeping an inventory list, one for yourselves and another that is not so detailed for your removalist.

Here are some examples-

Your copy:
Box number
Contents
1
Wine glasses, vases, crystal trinkets
2
Toaster, food processor, cutlery
3
Towels, linen

Removalist copy:
Box number
Room to go in
1
Dining Room
2
Kitchen
3
Laundry

Move:
Pre planning for moving is a great idea to keep the kids entertained. We made our boys an activity bag each. In this were sticker books, pencils, colouring pages, an eye spy list of things they could find around our new house and because were moving interstate we also included DVD’s to watch in the car.

Settle:
In some cases of moving you may have to find a new school or day care centre. Finding a new school and sporting team for our 9 year old was definitely on the top of the worry list for us. We started the search for a new school earlier than most may start. This way (from long distance) we got to do our research. I rang each school and asked to speak to the principal so that we would get a better feel for how the school would be run. We also looked up community forums on the internet (we are lucky to live in an age where such truthful information is right at our fingertips!). From this we narrowed our search down to two schools which we visited upon arrival to our new town and from there we let our son pick which one was best suited to his ideals. Starting kids back at school will help get them back into routine and will help them to make friends ASAP.
As for hobbies, getting kids into the swing of being social in their new surroundings helps immensely. Getting your children into a social routine is an easy way to make your new surroundings feel like home.

Pets:
If you have any pets you can give your kids the job of being moving companion/designated pet carer/s. Giving them a sense of responsibility will help keep their mind off of having to move from familiar surroundings, not to mention that this will also help your furry friend adjust to the new place also.

Relax:

Once all of your items are in your new house, even before they are unpacked, have a relax, go out and explore your surroundings and local parks. This will help the kids settle and the fresh air will do wonders for your worries.