Kids definitely change things once they come along. I know that many people say that they don’t want to adjust their life around littles, but truth be told, it is inevitable. Their very existence demands it. Just because you have to make adjustments doesn’t mean that it has to be life altering all the time. If you prepare for what you need, it will *hopefully* go a bit smoother.
I have moved a lot in my lifetime, although moving with a little one has only been the last couple of times. It has definitely been more of a challenge to move this time around. From selling a home, moving the frugal way, and a whole other slew of factors, it has been a roller coaster to say the least.
We have figured out some things along the way so I hope to be able to share those with you. I am far from perfect in this thing called parenthood, but I try to learn every day.
Involve the little one
Moving is stressful. I know for a fact that it has gotten me all in knots. Being the recovering OCD personality that I am, having boxes scattered all around the house was KILLING me. Those blinders kicked in after a while so I was able to ignore it more than at first. What about Little Mister though? His blinders do not work so well. He was in tune to it all. It stressed him out to see one more thing taken away and boxed up. I tried to include him in the packing process so that it would be a bit more fun.
Talk positively about change
Although we had been talking to him about the move for months before the move, he was still acting out. It is definitely a hard change for a little one to take in. We really tried to highlight the fun facts about our new home. We will have access to a swimming pool for the first time ever, so we talk about that a lot. Nix the negative talk about the move and hype up the positive aspects.
Give them a safe place
While the whole house was looking sparse and scattered with boxes, I decided to leave his room untouched (except taking away some clothes and books). I believe that this little space all of his own helped him feel more adjusted. Plus, it took all of 20 minutes to pack up his room. I *may* have cheated a bit and not actually boxed up his toys.
Activities for the car
For the car trip, I had a few fun activities picked out for him. We had 4 small containers of toys that he had not played with in months (or ever), coloring books, stickers, and reading books. If stuff got boring, we always had a backup iPad although that is always the last resort on a car trip for us. We stopped for lunch at rest areas, made our own lunches (frugal!) and Little Mister got some energy out! This was a huge help!
I also made activity bags out of colored rice and fun items inside the bag like the small animals in the picture below. The point was for Little Mister to search for items in the bag. Once we get to our new home, we can dump the contents into a large tote and use it as a sensory tub.
Attempt to maintain a sense of normalcy
As we were in the moving process, I attempted to keep a normal eating and sleeping schedule. It was tough (eating from the play table was even tougher), but I thought it was important. While we are traveling, we snacked a lot. Snacks were packed and ready to be distributed though! We had an assortment of salty, sweet, healthy, and not the best for you snacks. A treat every now and again while in the car doesn’t hurt (I mean, they are animal crackers, really).
So, as you see, none of these are huge, life altering adjustments. Just simple steps that hopefully helped my little one feel better equipped to adjust to our new life. From packing together, talking positively about the big change, and leaving an untouched space just for him, we only made a few adjustments to our moving routine for the little one. Having activities and snacks for Little Mister and myself was a no brainer and not at all difficult either. In the end, it was a life saver as he did amazingly during the 20+ hours on the road.
I hope this gives you ideas and encouragement to make your next move (or even a vacation road trip) easier on the little ones in your life. What do you like to do to keep your kids happy during a big change or road trip?