Moving with Kids.

[Rosie2025]

Hi everyone,

I’m about to move house soon with kids both under 12 - starting to get a bit nervous about how it will all go. I keep hearing that moving with little ones can be extra stressful, so I wanted to ask other parents who’ve done it before:

What did you find the hardest part about moving with children?
Did you manage to get their bedrooms set up straight away, or was that something that came later?
Was it the actual moving day that felt toughest, or the first week after?

Any advice you’d give to make the whole thing smoother for kids (and us parents!)

Thanks in advance.

Haven’t done it but logic would say their beds would be the most important to get set up in the new place. Pack a suitcase of their clothes and toiletries needed for the first few days rather than in boxes so they have that readily to hand.
Ideally moving when they’re out the house vs a weekend would help too.
Will it be stressful- yes. Will it be manageable- yes.

Prepare a "first night box" in which you put toilet paper, a bar of soap, the kettle, 3 mugs, a small lamp, a new book for each, and apply red or yellow tape on it so it stands out.
You might want to add a smilier box per child per room with bedding, teddy, PJs, toothbrush, ... again with a lot of coloured tape.

does anyone have any info on schools near Dallas Ga? Me and my kiddos are moving to the area and we’d love to get the pros and cons of schools there

It’s never as bad as you think it’s going to be!

Have you anywhere to stay the first night or two?
We used to book into an hotel for a couple of nights to take the pressure off.

Get the beds set up and made first then get started on the kitchen.

Perhaps get each child a surprise for their new bedrooms, get a shop delivered on day 2 or 3 with some treats.

Having Wi-Fi up and running is always a help, you can ask for a “working line takeover” from the previous occupants so there is no break in service.

We have an apartment lined up but I don’t have the extra funds to get a hotel before hand. Just trying to get a feel for the schools as my oldest is concerned they might not be as good as his current school.

Just how much under 12 are they? I wouldn’t say kids of 5-12 would be classes as “little ones”.
Get them both helping with the move and if it’s sleeping bags on the floor the first night and no one can remember where the toothbrushes are, then it’s all
the more fun!

Moved last year with a 7 and 4 year old. It was fine, dare I say parts of it were even fun? Got them to pack their overnight bag and some of their special things in a suitcase. We were going from sharing a room to them having one each so we made a bit of an event out of them choosing what would go in each room (thank you bluey for help there!). We were doing a big move so no chance of setting anything up in advance. We agreed to all share a room the first few nights, sleepover style, whilst we set up and shopped for new furniture etc. They seemed to really enjoy helping unpack when we arrived too.

Moving day was a big buzz of excitement. It took two days to load the vans so we got take away and ate on the floor the last night in the old house, which they said was like camping. They viewed it all as a big adventure.

Something I think we did well, when we arrived we didn't get stuck straight into the unpacking. We spent a bit of time just kinda taking in the house, went for a walk around the neighbourhood. The next day we went to a diy store and let them pick a tonne of those paper paint swatches to start planning what colour they wanted their rooms. We spent a good amount of time the first few weeks prioritising exploring the local area and having fun even though that meant getting the house unpacked took longer.

The oldest one is taking a bit of time to settle into the new school, but honestly I don't think that's the worst thing. It was a huge change and I'm also still adjusting. Some bits of it have been incredibly positive, some things we really miss from the old life. We're working through it all together.

To answer the other questions, their rooms had a 'basic' set up within a few days but it took us months to get them decorated and furnished the way we wanted. One of them is still slightly unfinished, but it's mostly done.

Making it smoother
-pre-prep food/snacks so they can help themselves if you're busy, and there's something ready for you and you don't need to cook. We went shopping and let them choose some 'packing energy' snacks

• get a take away either the last night or first night or both, make it an event
• definitely second having a 'first night box' with the stuff you use the most. Spend a few days this week noticing what's important to you and write it on a list somewhere. Every online first night kit we found included the kettle, which we don't use at all. But the first thing I do most days is switch on the radio....so that went in the easy to access box!
• likewise have activities or toys you know will keep them occupied accessible. For us it was Magnatiles, colouring books and I ordered a new boardgame to meet us at the house which could be for 2 small players or the whole family.
• let them choose the playlist!
• packing will always take longer than you think
• also depending on the distance of your move, about a month before we let them make a little bucket list of a few things they wanted to see/do before we left, and enjoyed family time working through them. We've made another one for the new place but it's been winter, so looking forward to ticking some off as the sun comes out and things open.

Idk how old your kids are but for me most of it was expectation management. I like to get stuff done! But I wanted this move to be positive so I made myself expect it might take longer to have everything unpacked because I was prepared to down tools if asked to play or someone was feeling emotional etc. Really think being present and available for the kids made it a memorable experience for the right reasons.