Moving With Children

• When large items are wrapped up in soft moving pads, children can get a false sense of safety and tend to pull on them or climb on them not realizing what's inside.
• Small children can pick up pieces of tape and try to put them in their mouths and choke.
• Movers walking backwards with large pieces can trip over a child, causing serious injury to both of them as well as damaging the piece/floor/walls.
• Parents can be distracted by what's going on with the move and are not able to keep a close an eye on their children.

To help prepare the child for the move/make it a fun process:

• Show them the new house before the move... be excited about it, "the NEW house!"
• Show them their room and explain, "this is your new room. The walls are [brown] now, but we're going to paint them [blue] so it's special for you!"
• Get their new room(s) set up immediately.
• Explain what will happen on move day so that the kids will not think that they will never see their things again once they go on the truck and also that Mommy & Daddy WILL be at the new house, waiting for them.
• Allow for kids to pack a few of their own items to get them comfortable with the process.
• Have kids decorate the boxes that will go to their room(s).
• Keeping select toys out and unpacked for them for the duration of the move.
• Taking a photo with them of their old room so they can remember it before it gets packed.
• Deciding ahead of time on some first special decoration or thing that's going to go in the new room right away to "christen it" with them.
• Write them a letter from their "old room" saying how much the room will miss them and asking the room to make things great for the next occupant.
• Suggest they draw (or better, draw with them!) how they want their new room arranged/decorated.
• Writing a nice note to the new occupant and leaving it in a sneaky place so the new person will find it.
• Ask the kids to think of old toys and or clothes they can donate to charity before the move.
• Before the move, ask your child to explain to her doll/bear what is going to happen when you move. You will know how the child feels and what, if anything, needs to be done or explained. This gets the fears in the open that you can address them before the anxiety level increases.