A move can be a stressful event for a child of any age. It’s important for a child’s mental and emotional health a move be handled with sensitivity and care.
This will make the child feel adequately supported throughout the process of moving. It’s most common for children to focus on the stress and loss of moving and have questions about the move.
You can put your child at ease by talking about the move and help redirect their thinking toward the positive aspects. There are many creative ways to help your child understand and embrace the move.
Moving Like Christmas
Packing up a life’s worth of belongings isn’t any more fun for kids than it is for adults. Packing and unpacking can be made more fun by treating the whole experience like Christmas or a birthday.
Younger children may be more agreeable to helping pack, or not fussing as you pack if the boxes or individual items are wrapped up like Christmas or birthday presents. Your child may then have fun opening and “rediscovering” all of their belongings when they unpack in their new room.
Packing for the Ages
How to handle packing is strongly dependent on your child’s age. A very young child, such as a toddler, may be very confused about packing.
It’s important to explain their things are just going to be moved and nothing is getting thrown away or given away.
Older children and teens may prefer to do most of their packing. It can be beneficial to provide them with this space and control over the process.
It may even be a good time to help educate them about packing and moving efficiently, such as how to pack and the importance of labeling.
A Moving Journal
Children have a lot of emotions surrounding a move. They may not be willing or able to adequately express all of their feelings and ideas in conversation.
It can be very helpful to give them an opportunity to express themselves through art and drawing. Encourage your child to create a “moving journal” where they can share their thoughts and ideas about the move.
They could do this through writing, pictures or both. It doesn’t have to be something they share, but you should give them the option to share it if they want.
Make it easy by providing them with an attractive and sturdy blank journal or similar book they may enjoy working with and keeping.
The Art of Moving
Incorporating art, drawing and creativity into moving makes it more fun and exciting for kids and helps them to relieve some of their stress. One simple art project is to have your child decorate the moving boxes or labels.
They may enjoy doing this with their own boxes or any of the other moving boxes. It can even make unpacking and find things easier later.
This is also a great activity for them to do while a moving company, such as Affordable Transfer Co Inc, is packing up and moving the rest of your family’s belongings into the moving truck.
It’s also important to take some of the mystery and uncertainty out of moving. If possible, it’s an excellent idea to show a child where they are moving to and let them see their new room to be.
If this isn’t possible, then give them pictures or diagrams of their new home. A good project for an older child is to let them plan their new room by making a picture of it or even planning out how they will organize it.
A move can be turned into a creative and exciting process for your child. It may even be a significant time for them to learn and grow.
Moving and change are important parts of life your child will almost certainly experience again. By giving them some tools and a better perspective when they’re young, all of their future moves can be made better.
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