If you’re moving house in Devon with young children then, as well as packing up mountains of toys, you’ll need to think about how to keep the children happy – both on moving day, and with getting used to the idea of a new home. So here are Van Man Removals and Storage’s top tips…
There are some good resources available to help kids understand the concept of moving to a new house, including books. Mike, who runs Van Man Removals and Storage, has two children who both enjoy watching the BBC TV series Topsy and Tim – based on the books you may remember from your childhood! They have a few excellent episodes about preparing to move to a new house, and moving day itself. All are available on BBC iplayer here in series one.
You could also get children involved in the packing – perhaps not your breakable ornaments! – just a box or two of their own things should help them feel more included in the process.
And of course moving house is a great chance for a clear-out, often even more important with a family home as children grow out of toys and clothes. You don’t want to be paying for us to move things that you no longer need.
Ideally, for you and them, young children would be out for the day – perhaps at childcare or school, or with family. But if they are going to be around during the move there are some simple things you can do to make it as stress-free as possible.
Let us know in advance that your children will be around. Our team of guys are really friendly and many have children of their own and will make extra efforts to help your kids feel part of the team. They can even have a sit in one of our vans!
If appropriate, we can also then structure the move out, to leave you with one room of your house available for the children until the last moment. This might be a playroom, one of their bedrooms or the family lounge. That way we can shut the doors knowing they are safe and entertained, and they shouldn’t get upset by all the movement going on around them. We can try to do the same in reverse at your new property as well, moving the children and their essentials into one room, before getting everything else unloaded into your new home.
The obvious solution is to let them watch as much TV as they want, for once! You might also want to download some of their favourite programmes onto your phone or a tablet. This is particularly helpful if you end up waiting for keys at your new property and children have to be sat in your car for a while.
It’s also a good idea to have some low-tech entertainment on offer – for when it’s time to pack up the TV, or your battery runs out. You could keep some colouring pencils unpacked and print out some of these free colouring sheets about new homes, in advance. A tennis ball is normally a good small toy to have to hand for children of all ages.
And, like all of us, children will need regular snacks so make sure these aren’t packed up, as well as a full drinks bottle or two, for once your cups are packed.
