Avoiding Stress When Moving House With Children

Moving house is often said to be one of the most stressful times of an adult's life and there are few people who would disagree, it is, after all, something we take for granted. For a child, the experience can be just as difficult but this is something which is often overlooked.

I can remember as a child when we moved house and can still recall that it was something of a traumatic event. We had not moved far, less than half a mile, but, in terms of the upheaval this caused to my life, it may as well been million miles? I vaguely remember the build-up which, for a child, can be quite daunting. Moving house can seem like an adventure but it can also be an unsettling experience.

If you are planning on moving in the near future it can be a good idea to stop and think about the impact this will have upon your child's emotional well-being and make preparations accordingly?

Keep them informed - surprises are not always welcome at a young age so make sure your children know you are looking for somewhere new to live straight away. The longer they have to get used to the idea the less of a shock the actual change will be.

Take pictures and make plans - a good idea is to take pictures and start to make plans with them as to how you will decorate and furnish their new rooms.

Get the timing right - try to time your move with the school holidays with summer time being ideal. This will give them time to settle in and make new friends before the next big change happens at the start of a new school year.

Keep them involved - the more involved your children are in the preparations then the more fun it will be. Get them organising their belongings for the move, what to keep and what can be disposed of. Try not to have too much of a clear-out at this stage as they'll need to keep as much familiarity as possible when the move comes along.

On the day itself - if at all possible let your kids remember their old house the way it was. Seeing a home stripped bare can be unsettling for even us adults so try to arrange for them to stay with a friend or relative while the practicalities of moving house actually take place.
Aim to have their new rooms all finished and ready to move into from day one. You'll always get some time to do some decorating and preparations before moving day so try and make the children's rooms a priority.

Settling in - allow some time for young minds to process all the changes that have occurred. It may take a few days for your son or daughter to become comfortable in their new world so be ready for a few sleeping problems and tantrums.

Overall, children are quite resilient and will soon adapt to a new environment. Within a week or so they'll have settled in and be making their mark on the new neighbourhood.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_X_Davies

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Pros and Cons of Moving House Methods - Professional Removal Companies Versus Do-It-Yourself

In this article we look at the pros and cons of the two main ways of moving house in an attempt to find out when each method is most suitable. Carefully deciding on your method of moving can save you considerable time and expense, as well as stress in what is already a very stressful process.

DIY moves

Pros

• It's cheaper, especially if you've hardly any possessions or big furniture, you can call on a team of strong, willing friends and you're not moving far away. Your only cost is hiring a van, plus petrol, plus goods in transit insurance cover if you want.

Cons

• You almost certainly have a lot more stuff than you think. Have you looked in your attic recently? Or your loft? Or the garden shed? How many books have you got? What's in your kitchen cupboards? And when did you last weed out your wardrobe? A DIY move means packing all this and carrying it physically into a van, unloading it at the other end and putting it in the new property, with possibly a long drive in an unfamiliar van in between.

• Stairs, doorways and passageways are more awkwardly shaped than you would ever have believed possible.

• Supermarkets and shops have a limited supply of usefully shaped boxes for packing, however helpful the supermarket shelf stackers are about saving you empty boxes. Allow several weeks to collect up enough boxes to store the contents of even a modest home. At the end of it you'll know everyone in the local supermarket by their first names but so what if you're moving away? Alternatively, if you're prepared to pay for packaging, the Big Yellow Self-Storage chain of shops has branches in London and the south east open seven days a week. You can order goods online at the big yellow, including storage packs, boxes, bubble wrap and packing tape.

Professional removers

Pros

• They know (or should know) what they're doing when lifting heavy furniture, negotiating tricky doorways and dismantling items temporarily to get them into the house. Use a firm which is a member of the British Association of Removers, the removal men professional body. Members have to adhere to a code of professional practice, meet minimum standards and provide emergency service and finance guarantees. There's also a conciliation scheme if you not satisfied with the service.

• Removers can offer various levels of packing services. The most expensive option is for the removers to pack everything. The second most expensive is for them to pack the breakable and fiddly things like crockery and glass. The cheapest way to employ removers is to get them to provide chests and boxes in advance for you to pack your own possessions in the day before the move. If you really want deluxe treatment you can get them to unpack everything at the other end as well, although this means you have to be mega organized and know where you want everything to go in your new house.

Cons

• Professional" removers are more expensive than doing it yourself.

If you're going for the professional option:

• Get two or three estimates. You can find names of local firms through the British Association of Removers, through the Yellow Pages or through Thomson Local Directories ).

• There are also growing numbers of property websites which include quotes from removal firms (see Web Watch).

• You should expect estimators to go through your whole house and garden, including lofts, cellars and that cupboard into which you've chucked everything that you can't find a place for elsewhere .

• Check whether your possessions will be covered by your household contents insurance policy, and extend the cover if they aren't.

• Don't wait until you've exchanged contracts to organize removers, especially if there'll only be a week or two between exchange and completion. If no one can fit you in on your agreed moving day, you'll be stuck.

You can find out more about moving to Kingston Upon Thames, as well as finding out much more about working with estate and letting agents at estate-agents-kingston-upon-thames.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colin_Gibb

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