5 Fun Ways to Occupy Your Young Children on Moving Day
Moving house is one of the most daunting challenges an adult can face. And if you have no prior experience to call on, each phase of the move can leave you stressed and overworked. If you also have young children to think about, your moving preparations will be even more difficult. However, the move will also be stressful on your children. After all, their world is about to change drastically.
Modern children have higher stress levels, according to 64% of the adults surveyed in a recent poll. So, for your own sanity—and your children's—try to make moving day a fun experience, rather than a stressful one.
The following moving day activities can help your children to feel more comfortable with the hectic and sometimes scary hubbub of moving day.
1. Create some backyard activities
If you think that the noise and chaos of moving day might be too much for your young children, your backyard could provide the perfect escape. Before your moving day arrives, sit down and plan some backyard activities. Since this is moving day, you'll probably need much more than just a ball or Frisbee to keep your children entertained.
Fortunately, a backyard offers a wealth of entertainment options for the creative-minded parent. For instance, you could:
- Rent some toys or garden playsets.
- Hire an entertainer, such as a magician.
- Throw a backyard barbecue for the kids.
- Have a costume party for your kids and their friends.
These kinds of fun and creative activities will help your children to enjoy themselves while keeping their minds off the stress of the imminent move.
2. Take them on an indoor camping trip
If the weather on moving day is going to be a problem, or your backyard isn't quite right for outdoor activities, indoor camping is a good way to keep young children entertained. Select a room that is out of the way, fill it with blankets, boxes and pillows, and tell your kids they are on an indoor camping trip. Try to make the experience as authentic as possible by adding pretend equipment.
You can play recordings of insects or campfires to help put your children in the camping mindset.
However, if you would rather your young children be somehow involved in the moving process, you could instead choose one of the following activities.
3. Assign your children moving box decoration duties
Your moving boxes are going to need some form of label—something that tells you where they belong in your new home. This is something you can assign to your young children. Rather than mundane labels and numbers, you could hand your children some premade stickers with colourful and interesting room designations on them.
Or if your kids love art, you could allow them to paint, draw or colour your moving boxes. It might be a good idea to have your moving boxes flow through an area where your children can mark them as they go.
4. Hide prizes in the moving boxes
An exciting way to make moving day fun is to place prizes within certain boxes before you seal them completely. That way, your young children will have a field day helping you to unpack in your new home. Choose the boxes that contain the items you will need in the first days and weeks of your move, and then make a note of them. This will help you make nice memories on moving day.
5. Bring your new home to life with a sticker book
Did you know that you can turn photos into stickers? Before moving day, take some picture of your new house and the area around it. Then take some pictures of your furniture, your kid's toys and anything in the kid's rooms. You can then use a photo-to-sticker service to turn those photos into stickers. Using a sticker book, your children can then envisage the layout of their new home.
Do you need a residential removalist for your upcoming move? Then get in touch with Zippy Removals & Storage. Established in 1966, we have the experience and know-how to ensure a stress-free and successful move.
