Here’s some advice fora 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 foundthis insanely stressful? Whether you are relocating interstate, to aneighbouring suburb or even just up the road, moving with kids in general isincomprehensibly 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 lifechanging adventure…. Moving our family from Adelaide to South East Queensland.Before this we had only ever moved locally from suburb to suburb and that wasstressful enough. Here is some of the knowledge I have learnt from my customersand from each time we have moved, so that we could eventually move interstatepretty much hassle free with the kids (a miracle I know).
Pack:
Let’s start off with the daunting task of packing (cue Darth Vadermusic). 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 entertainkids while you pack are:
Buy a few extra boxes and let the kids decorate them with crayons andstickers (NOT glitter oh goodness NO!). Once they have decorated them they canpack some of their favourite toys to keep aside to have access to as soon asyou 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 touse until you move. Pack the rest, wipe out the cupboards and place butcherpaper down where the saved utensils will go. This will save so much timeleading up to the stressful parts of your move. It will also help your kids tostart living minimally before you pack absolutely everything away.
A huge general packing tip (that will also save you hours of insanitylooking for the kid’s favourite teddy bear, or your favourite wine glass) isnumbering your boxes and keeping an inventory list, one for yourselves andanother that is not so detailed for your removalist.
Here aresome examples-
Your copy:
| Box number | Contents |
| 1 | Wine glasses, vases, crystal trinkets |
| 2 | Toaster, food processor, cutlery |
| 3 | Towels, linen |
Removalistcopy:
| 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 houseand 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 carecentre. Finding a new school and sporting team for our 9 year old wasdefinitely on the top of the worry list for us. We started the search for a newschool earlier than most may start. This way (from long distance) we got to do ourresearch. I rang each school and asked to speak to the principal so that we wouldget a better feel for how the school would be run. We also looked up communityforums on the internet (we are lucky to live in an age where such truthfulinformation is right at our fingertips!). From this we narrowed our search downto two schools which we visited upon arrival to our new town and from there welet our son pick which one was best suited to his ideals. Starting kids back atschool 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 theirnew surroundings helps immensely. Getting your children into a social routineis 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 movingcompanion/designated pet carer/s. Giving them a sense of responsibility willhelp keep their mind off of having to move from familiar surroundings, not tomention that this will also help your furry friend adjust to the new placealso.
Relax:
Once all of your items are in your new house, even before they areunpacked, 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 yourworries.
