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As difficult as moving can be for adults, the stress of moving can feel even greater for children. Kids of any age may experience difficulty adjusting, confusion about why they’re leaving, and sadness about separating from friends and other familiar aspects of their lives. This can cause a lot of emotional turmoil for your children.

With that being said, how can you make moving easier for a child? If you’re moving out of state, there are plenty of ways to make the experience better for your kids, no matter if they’re toddlers or teens. If you’re seeking the best strategies for moving with a child out of state, keep reading for our six tips!

How To Move Out Of State with a Child?

• Communicate openly

From the moment you know you’re going to move, be sure to hold an open line of communication between you and your child. Rather than delaying, it’s best to tell your child about the move as soon as possible. You’ll want to let your kids know the reason for your move so they can better understand the purpose. This can help them to make sense of things instead of eliciting a sense of confusion. Allow them to ask any questions they have, and answer as transparently as possible in an age-appropriate way. Emphasize the fact that they can always communicate with you if they have any more questions or feelings to share as time goes on. For younger children, there are plenty of children’s books about moving that can give them a clearer understanding of the situation. These resources can go a long way in quelling some of their worries.

• Give them time to process

Moving is a part of life that can be very disruptive to routines, forcing you to change aspects of your daily life. Even the process of packing and preparing can be extremely disruptive, causing you and your children to feel overwhelmed and stressed. It can take some time to process the situation and get used to all of the new things happening, especially for children. Because they aren’t really an active part of the decision-making process, they don’t get as much time to gradually adjust. Instead, they need to start working through their emotions once they receive the news. Don’t rush your child through their emotional processing. Every child will take a different amount of time to work through their feelings, and it’s important to allow space for that.

• Familiarize your child

Many of the emotions surrounding a move involve fear of the unknown and the general sense of uncertainty that a relocation causes. For children, this can feel particularly daunting. They’re leaving behind friends, school, extracurriculars, and all the local places they are familiar with. Socially, it can be very taxing on them. One way to combat these nerves is to give them a sense of familiarity with their new home. If you’re close enough to your new home to go visit the town and even the house, this can be helpful in allowing your child to gain a sense of comfort and belonging. Even if you can’t go there ahead of time, you can look online with your child to find fun places and activities that they would enjoy. This can build their excitement about the impending move and give them something to look forward to, even if they’re feeling some sadness or nervousness.

• Let your child help

Much of the move may make your child feel like they have no control over what’s happening in their life. After all, they didn’t make the decision to move, so much of this change has been out of their control. Allowing and encouraging them to help can give them a sense of agency in the situation. Depending on their age, they can be involved in different moving tasks. You can have your child help with packing, sorting and decluttering, decorating, and various other elements of the move. This can also be a great way to keep them occupied, which in turn can help them to productively process their stress.

• Stay organized

During this stressful time, it’s important to harvest an environment that has structure and organization. Without it, your child may end up feeling unnecessarily anxious and worried. This can be especially helpful during the packing process, as this can easily get out of hand and be disorganized. Creating an organizational system for this task will prevent you and your child alike from feeling overly stressed. It can also be difficult to keep your house clean as you prepare for a move, but try to make sure your child at least still has an organized space for themselves in their room in order to foster a feeling of normalcy. This is a great way to give them respite from the difficulties of a move.

• Prepare for moving day

Depending on how old your child is, there are a few different ways to handle moving days. If they’re too young to go without supervision, calling on loved ones for childcare is a great way to make sure you can complete your move without needing to constantly check on your child. Alternatively, if they can be on their own but can’t do much to help, you can give them a space with some form of entertainment so they can keep themselves occupied while you move things out of the house. Finally, if they’re old enough to help, you can give them tasks that they will be able to complete successfully so they can feel the importance of what they provide to your move. Additionally, make sure to have an essentials bag packed so they have their necessities with them on the day of the move.

Make your move easy for your child!

Moving with children can feel difficult, but it doesn’t need to be a negative experience at all. With the right tools, you can make your child feel safe, happy, and supported during your out-of-state move. If you and your family are seeking a professional moving service, find out what Cord Moving and Storage Company can do for you. Allow us to provide affordable, professional moving services so you can instead use more time and energy to make the transition smoother for yourself and your child.