Moving to a new home is stressful for every member of your family, but it can be especially difficult on the littlest family members. While you’re caught up in the chaos of organizing a move, it’s important that you take the time to help your children to cope with the idea of moving to a new home. Before hiring a Chicago moving company, here are a few tips that may help both you and your child to talk about and come to terms with the upcoming move.
Talk about It Far in Advance
A move isn’t the kind of thing that you want to spring on a child. As soon as you begin talking about moving homes, you should talk to your children about it. Let them know what you’re thinking about doing, why you’re considering it, and when it will likely occur. Let your children be involved in the discussion as much as their age and interest will allow.
Focus on the Exciting Parts
While leaving their friends, their school, and their home will be hard, there are still many exciting things about moving. Focus on these aspects of it as much as possible. Sit down with your child and do some research on the city you’ll be moving to. Look into fun things that you can do in the area, and learn about their new school if you can.
Let Them Feel Sad
As much as you may want them to be happy and excited about the upcoming move, it’s completely natural for your child to be sad about it as well. In fact, you should be feeling some sadness as well, and if you’re pressing it down, it’s important that you allow yourself to face those feelings. Better yet, face them alongside your child.
It’s okay for your child to cry. They may even become upset and ask why they have to move away from all their friends. Let them know that it’s normal to feel sad, but remind them of all those exciting things that you’ve researched and talked about before to give them something to look forward to.
Give Them Some Control
In a situation like this, your child will likely feel like they don’t have control over anything. After all, you’ve told them that they have to leave their home, and they don’t really have a choice in the matter. This can leave your child feeling frustrated and a little lost. Help root them by giving them control over some aspect of the move.
Allow them to pack up as much of their own stuff as you reasonably can. Perhaps let them pick a few stops that you make on the drive to your new home. Let them start picking out the wall colors and other décor for their room in the new house. When you give your child a task, you give them something to focus on that is within their control, rather than leaving them to dwell on everything that’s beyond their control.
If your family is moving, it’s important that you take the time to help your children cope with all of the feelings and the stresses that come along with it. If you’re feeling too overwhelmed to take the time to do that, consider hiring a full-service moving company to take on some of the tasks. Contact Wolley Movers today and schedule our Chicago movers to help with your big move.
