How to move cross country with kids

Are you planning to move cross country with kids? You must be thinking that there is an impossible task ahead of you. However, it does not have to be this way. With our excellent tips, you will make the move easier and less stressful. There are plenty of reasons why you should relocate, be it your job or anything else. The most important thing is to remain calm and to make it as pleasant as possible.

a mother and father with three children in a car with no roof — Make the move as fun as possible because this will help your kids cope with the relocation faster

Allow your children to help

If they are old enough to draw or to help you with filling in the boxes, allow them. This will make them involved in the whole process and it will make them feel as if they are special little helpers. Keeping them busy is the best way to avoid crying or feeling sad about them leaving their friends. They can pack their own things, and even if you have to repack the boxes afterward, allow them to be involved in the process. They can also label the boxes by drawing the things that are in them. This is a fun way for them to express their creativity, and it will not be troublesome for you. If you move cross country with kids, they should have space to express themselves.

Spend time with them

No matter how hectic things can get, spend some quality time with them at least once a week, or half an hour every day. Dedicate your attention to them, and forget about the move every now and then. No matter how stressful it can get, your children are not fully aware of the situation and they miss their mum and dad. Take them to a park and play with them. Or to the pool, basketball court, anywhere where they will feel good. If you do not have time for this, we don`t blame you. In this case, make sure to tuck them in bed and read them a goodnight story every night.

a mother holding a child in her arms above her head in the park — Always try to spend quality time with your children at least once a week, it will have a positive effect on them.

When you move cross country with kids, consider hiring professionals

If you want your move cross country with kids to go even less stressful, consider hiring professionals. You will not regret this, as they will save you time, nerves, and as crazy as it sounds, they will probably save you money.

Moving service

If you hire professionals to help you move, you will save countless hours. They can help you with the following things and much more:

obtaining the packing material
packing
moving your belongings to your new house
unpacking
getting rid of the packing material in a safe way

Babysitter

The first option can be letting your friends and family babysit your children. However, if they are busy at the moment, you can always hire a babysitter. It is good for the children not to be in the house all the time, as they are more likely to get bored, or anxious with all the work happening around them. Plus, some tension is inevitable, and chances are that you will not be able to take care of them and dealing with the move. The move cross country with kids may give you a headache, but the best medicine is to find them a sitter.

Agree about the rules

If you keep the children involved in the move and agree with them about the set of rules they should follow, they feel like grown-ups and will most likely adopt those rules. Before you move cross country with kids, explain to them everything that will happen. For example, how long will the journey take, when and where they will arrive, why you have to do this, etc. When they know the background, it will be much easier for them to accept this. And then, make the set of rules how you expect them to behave. This means, no yelling, no touching the boxes, no throwing things, or playing with tools.

Make the journey more pleasant for the kids

If you set aside all the stress about moving to the other country, you can actually make move cross country with kids fun and exciting even, especially if you are going by car.

Bring their favorite toys and games

Bring a lot of games for your trip and keep the children active. They will have fun during the journey if they have their favorite toys along with them. Also, they will be less anxious and will have a totally different perspective of the journey. There are countless songs that you can play and sing along with your children. This may even reduce your anxiety level as well.

Make a lot of breaks

Kids are too small to be sitting for hours in a car, even if you have all the games in the world. It is necessary to make frequent breaks during the move so that they can stretch their legs and breathe some fresh air. There is another thing move is perfect for. Namely, if you are going near a national park, museum, lake, anything you believe would be interesting for you and your children to see, go for it. Children want to know everything and see everything and will be grateful to you if they can run around and ask dozens of questions about the new attraction they are seeing. Of course, this may be a bit tiresome for you, but at the end of the day, your kids will sleep like babies and will have enjoyed their trip, rather than crying or being nervous.

a girl blowing balloons in the park — Make frequent breaks during your move cross country with kids and allow them to play.

Be prepared for emergencies

Unexpected things can always happen when you move cross country with kids, so this is why you need to remain calm in every situation. If your car breaks down, or if you realize that you have forgotten your passport, or if your kid has fallen and is hurt, you need to remain completely calm and be prepared. Bring the first aid kit with you, but also don`t forget the medical, dental and optical charts with you. Everything will turn out to be okay, so there is no room for panic because children imitate their parents and adopt their behavior.