Tips for moving house with children

Moving house can be a traumatic experience, especially for children, so it's best to advise them well in advance of a house move and keep them in the loop as the date approaches. They will be leaving their friends and familiar surroundings and it can be difficult for them to cope with.

Moving house: Help children cope

There are several things that you can do to make the moving experience more pleasant for your children and you need to implement them from the outset. Some good ways to help them cope are

• Involve them in the early planning process
• Talk to them about their new home and community
• Allow them to discuss their feelings and concerns
• Talk to them about their new schools
• With younger children, use play-acting with toys as well as stories to help them to understand and come to grips with a house move

Treat the upcoming move as a fun adventure and allow the children to pack at least one little box themselves with some favourite toys or items.

Moving home: Consider your children's needs

Children need to be given some time to talk to their friends and say goodbye so allow for this. Talk to them about the schedule for moving day and update them on what to expect. If possible, take them to see the new house before you actually move in.

Once everything has been moved to the new location, organise their bedrooms first and put the new household routine into action as soon as possible. Afterwards you could take them out to explore their new community and to see their new schools.

It is recommended that even very young children should be present on moving day but if it isn't practical you could arrange for them to spend the day, and possibly sleep over, with a relative but talk to them about it in advance and about coming home to the new house. They may be too young to take it all in but at least the short break in their routine won't be too much of a surprise.

Some help in moving with children

Almost all of the removal companies have a link on their sites devoted to making a house move easier on your children. You might also like to visit a couple of good bookshops which will have books designed to help your child deal with the upheaval of moving house.