Kids typically take more time than adults to settle into a new home, which can be stressful for moms. It disrupts their normalcy and introduces them to a new life they are unfamiliar with. With so many expectations and leaving behind their friends and neighborhoods, there’s no better time to intervene than in such moments.
This article offers surefire mom hacks to help children settle into a new home and an overall guide to moving.
- Create A Familiar Space And Maintain Routines
Kids love routines and enjoy sticking to them. Maintaining regularity in the new home can help them settle in quickly and alleviate stress. However, enabling kids to settle in a new environment depends on what you do beforehand.
Below are tips to help create familiar spaces and maintain routines:
- Prioritize unpacking their belongings: Ensure you unpack and set up your children’s rooms before moving on to the rest. Prioritizing them helps them seamlessly phase into the new environment quickly.
- Arrange decorations and furniture similarly: When arranging decorations and furniture in the new home, ensure a sense of familiarity for children. Keeping the layout and placement of items similar to their previous home can provide a comforting and recognizable environment. It’s best to avoid making significant changes that might disrupt their sense of continuity and stability.
- Use familiar colors or themes and scents: Its preferable to use similar colors in your kids’ rooms. Use any of their favorite colors or shades they are already familiar with. By incorporating hues that resonate with them, such as soothing pastels or vibrant tones, you establish a visual connection to their previous living environment.
Likewise, using familiar scents can help ensure continuity that may help kids settle in quickly.
The little yet familiar things you’re used to don’t have to change. Parents can provide a sense of continuity and comfort for their children.
Remember, taking proactive steps before the move and implementing these strategies will greatly contribute to a smoother transition. Reestablishing these routines maintains familiarity, making it a breeze for kids to settle in.
- Play Forts And Other Fun Games
Once you’re done unpacking, having a good time with your kids playing games can help them settle in quickly. Forts can be an incredible game when all boxes are empty, but there are many other games to rack up all the fun.
Playing with your pets or scavenger hunting can also be viable fun games, and you can include some hide-and-seek fun if you have enough obstructions in the house. Children have an innate love for games; it brings them joy and excitement.
Regardless of unfamiliar surroundings, they can engage in play and enjoy themselves, quickly adapting to their new environment.
Playing games also tires them out, ensuring a restful night’s sleep in their new rooms, and they will genuinely cherish the experience. After a productive and enjoyable first day in their new home, settling in can be surprisingly effortless.
- Start Making Memories Right Away
Memories are binding to a place or a point in time, and you’d want to make your first day in your new home stick to the back of your kids’ minds. These memories could be creating a time capsule to commemorate the first day or setting up a cozy movie night with lots of popcorn and warm blankets.
Try making this day exceptional, a day they can remember for years. Invite light moments and tone down the strict mom code to let your kids see your supple side—it’ll etch in their memories and ease them into the new home.
You can also try a rare moment like a backyard movie night, a random act of kindness like leaving positive notes around the community, or whatever moves them to the core.
- Meet The Neighbors And Arrange Playdates
Kids also love hanging out with friends, even introverted types. Just like they used to interact in previous neighborhoods, it shouldn’t surprise you that they’d be receptive to meeting new friends.
A more practical way of introducing your kids to new faces is by meeting the neighborhood. You can identify homes with kids who won’t mind having new friends to play with to make the integration easy for them.
You can also arrange for playdates, inviting your neighbors’ kids over. These moments are the most important for kids, enabling them to bond and interact positively. Your kids should seamlessly settle in if the environment outside your home’s walls is favorable enough and inviting.
Conclusion
Moving into a new neighborhood and home can be daunting for kids. However, you can save the day if you understand what to do. Above all, it’s best to always be patient with your kids, letting them naturally transition into the new home.
By implementing these mom hacks, you can support your children in settling into a new home with ease and minimizing stress along the way.
