Despite the fact that moving home as a family is often best done during the school holidays, this is not always achievable. Finding the perfect house, work commitments, or a set date for you to vacate your existing home can all prevent your family from moving during an ideal time, making moving while your children are in the middle of a school term a must.
Keeping the move as simple and uncomplicated as possible is essential when moving with children especially if the relocation is going to have an effect on their daily school routine. Whether having to take your children out of school for a couple of days, or having to resettle them in a new school entirely, here’s some advice on how to make the move easy on your children.
Keep Evening Routines the Same
Although this could mean that everything takes twice as long, keeping your children in a routine during weekdays can help reduce any anxiety they may have surrounding the move. Make sure that, rather than spending nights packing and organising, your evenings are spent doing the usual activities you would do as a family. Continue to have sit-down meals together, help out with homework, and try to carry on with any other afterschool activities that your children participate in.
Still spending quality time together that is not focused on moving house should help your children continue to feel secure, which will help with the transition from one home to another. Whilst spending time together in the evenings, don’t be afraid to discuss the move though, as this gives your children the chance to ask questions and talk about how they feel.
Use the Weekends for Packing
As much as you should try and stick to your usual routine during the weekdays, you shouldn’t shield your children from the move altogether. Use Saturdays and Sundays to focus on packing and get your children involved too. Though they may not be able to help with organising the paperwork, they can still help by packing up some of their belongings.
Encourage your older children and teenagers to pack up their own bedrooms, and help your younger ones by packing together. Alternatively, if you’re in a hurry to get things moving, give your little ones a box and ask them to pack up their favourite toys. Allowing your children to pack their own items will help them feel like they have some control over the relocation.
Let them know as early as possible about them Moving Schools
If your children are having to transfer schools because of their new home, then you should let them know as soon as possible. The earliest date to introduce this is often when you’ve decided upon a house, or if moving for a job, when your job offer is confirmed. Letting your children know from the earliest date possible allows them to come to terms with the move and to say goodbye to their school and friends.
Let Teachers Know
Even if your children don’t have to change schools because of a move, you should make their teachers aware of the change in their lives. Children can find moving home difficult, which can have an effect on their behaviour when at school. Letting their school know what is happening means that your children can have support offered to them from teachers and assistants if they need it.
Consider letting them Experience Moving Day
It can be a good idea to let your children experience the moving day itself. So long as you won’t get in trouble by taking them out of school for the day, let them experience some of the moving day as it will help them adapt to their new home. If you think that it might be too difficult for them to be involved in the whole moving day, then think about alternative options. Enlisting the help of grandparents and having them spend the day in your new home looking after the children while you and the removal team complete the move is a good way to help them settle and make your new house feel like a home.
If you are planning a term time move and would like some help, then why not get in touch? With over 17 years of experience, our removals team are experienced in all types of moves and regularly help families in the south west and across the rest of the country move into their new home. So, if you’re in Bath and need a removals company to help you relocate, give us a call on 01225 759200.
