When you are facing a long-distance move as the head of your household and the parental figure, you have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. One of the most critical responsibilities is how your children are affected and interact with the moving experience.
Denver parents and parents worldwide have long been puzzled about how to deal with relocations for children in every age group, and indeed, every child is different. Unfortunately, there is not one way for every household, but moving can be a little easier.
You may be able to get your kiddo to enjoy it; if that is the case, you are winning as a parent and have mastered the art of moving. If you don’t succeed at everything, don’t beat yourself up – everyone needs a break, and reaching out to Denver moving companies can help to ease your stress, anxiety, and the entire transition.
It is the Little Things…
Little surprises are fun for everyone, especially for kiddos when undergoing many changes to their daily routine and schedule. Before you head off to your new place, spend a day going to your child’s favorite places, allow them to pick the spots, and allow them to enjoy their time.
You can do something as small as hiding little surprises around the house to encourage them to pack things up. Place some stickers or candy around their room and little palaces around the house so everything doesn’t feel like a chore and a sad time in their life. You don’t have to put all of your energy into these things, just a little something to brighten their day and make the prepping process fun and exciting!
Use Your Boxes for Playtime
Packing is a part of moving, and as a parent, sometimes it is difficult not to feel like you will be accountable for the entire house. Before you get into the packing (and unpacking), you can do a lot with cardboard boxes. This may be something you already know because if you have young children, they are typically more interested in boxing and packaging than any present inside.
You can allow your kids to label boxes and draw on them as you prepare for the moving date; let them use colors, pictures, or whatever they like so that your boxes are labeled, and the kids have something to do.
When you are going to unpack, instead of taking everything to recycle, keep some boxes and use them to build a fort, create a car, spaceship, or whatever your kids can dream of. And for the big kids, you can have them do the final recycling run to participate in an eco-friendly household and relocation process.
Play Games and Music on the Road
When you are making a long-distance move, chances are that a road trip is guaranteed, and putting a bunch of kids in the car can be a recipe for disaster. There are ways to make every road trip a little bit more interesting and even comforting for your children.
Emotions are most likely running rampant, considering the circumstances of your travels, and this is something to take note of because it will affect the group’s overall mood. You can play fun games on the road such as I Spy with colors or things, the License plate game where you try to mark off all 50 states, or even allow your kiddos to bring physical games they can play in the backseat alongside movies and entertainment.
Music can alter the mood and jam to your favorite songs! This should make the trip go a little quicker and lighten the load everyone is carrying.
Camp Inside When You Arrive
Once you arrive at your new home, chances are you will not have everything you need immediately, nor will you be able to unpack everything in one day. Instead of stressing over it all, turn it into something exciting for your younger children.
Making things exciting for your kids will also make things more exhilarating for you. You can set up campgrounds inside the new house and sleep together in the living room. This is a chance to bond, talk about your feelings and elaborate on everything that is going on – considering all the changes in your life. With all the craziness, it is nice to have some quality time with your family while doing something outside of what is ordinary to spice things up!
Give them Control of their Own Rooms
Moving can cause anxiety for children, but it is still exciting because everything is fresh and new. Checking out and choosing their new rooms is incredibly fun for kids, and this is a simple way to provide them autonomy and security in the new house. Allow them to have total and complete control over their space.
You do not have to relinquish all of the control, and you can still oversee everything happening but provide them with the responsibility of unpacking their boxes – if applicable and age-appropriate. This gives them an added sense of purpose and control over the experience. Allow them to have fun, decorate their room and create a safe place just for them in the new home.
Hire a Long-Distance Mover to Deal with Transit
One of the greatest solutions to creating a stress-free environment for any long-distance move is hiring a licensed, local moving company to help you with your endeavor.
Moving doesn’t have to be a feared process; it is a natural part of many Denver residents’ (and future Denver residents) lives. Cross-country moving companies Denver make things simple, and to ease the anxieties around moving with children, reach out to Denver’s best full-service movers for support.
The Denver Moving Company is Colorado’s home-grown, and family ran moving service and remains many families go-to movers when looking for local, long-distance, or cross-country moving assistance.
They are committed to creating smooth transitions and an upbeat, moving environment for families and children. When you have reliable movers, you can focus your energy on more important things – your kiddos and their journey through the moving experience!