The process of moving your family from one home to another can be a daunting task. Beyond the physical process of packing up your belongings into boxes and moving them from one place to another, most kids have a hard time leaving the familiarity of their home. Managing your kids emotions while moving is a task in itself. The thought of moving away from friends, teachers, and just familiarity can be a stressful time for your kids. In addition to your kids emotions, you will need to contend with their attention span. Moving takes hours and hours of organizing, planning, packing, and physical labor. It can be difficult to keep your kids entertained while you are in the process of moving.
Here are some tips that you can use to make the moving experience more fun for your kids. I won’t dive deep into the phycological side of preparing your kids for a move in this article. I will focus more on ways you can keep your kids entertained and possibly even engaged in helping on moving day.
Make it a game
Making things a game can instantly spike your kids interest. I often make things like cleaning the bonus room (play room) a game and even offer rewards. Some ways you can make moving a game include seeing how many toys you can fit into one box, or how many pillows can you carry to the moving truck in one trip. Turning moving into a sort of challenge can get your kids interested and may even result in some competition breaking out. If you can get your kids competing to complete tasks while moving the whole process will be much smoother.
Having your kids pack their own things can also make it more interesting for them. They value their toys and belongings so let them organize and pack their playroom and bedroom. Kids also enjoy playing with moving boxes and tape. Let them handle the packing tape, and help them hold the boxes shut.
If you are having trouble getting your kid or kids to participate in a game you make up for your move, rewards can be motivating. Let’s be honest, we wouldn’t do half of the things we do if there was no reward. Incentivize them to help by offering the winner of a competition the ability to choose where you eat dinner. If you have a single child, maybe promise them a playdate with their best friend or a trip to their favorite place in town. This can also help them get some enjoyment out of their favorite places before they move to a new place.
Schedule a playdate with a friend on moving day
There are few things that kids enjoy more than spending time playing with their friends. Like I mentioned earlier you can use a promised playdate with friends as a reward for helping with packing toys or other items. For younger kids who may not be capable of efficiently being productive on moving day, you can try to schedule a playdate with a friend on moving day. Even if another parent is willing to keep an eye on your child for a few hours, that can buy you enough distraction free time to get all of your packing done or get at least a few rooms loaded into the moving truck.
Moving can be extremely stressful so if you can find ways to make the process fun for your kids, you yourself will be less stressed out and more productive. Comment below and share any methods you use to make moving more fun for your kids!
