Moving abroad is a big task, but it’s even harder with children. Adults understand what’s involved in moving house and packing up their life to go to a new country, but children don’t have that understanding and won’t know what’s going on. If you’re going to relocate overseas then you need to try and account for their needs and welfare.
Should you require any assistance with relocating your household items to European or international destinations, we are eager to guide you throughout the process. Now, let's begin with the top tips for relocating overseas with children.
Talk to Them About Everything
The first thing you need to keep in mind with kids is that you should assume nothing at all when getting them ready to move out. You’re going to need to explain everything to them if you want them to be able to handle moving house in a calm and sensible manner.
It’s important to take the time to sit down with your kids and explain what is going on to them - they deserve to know and understand that things are going to change in a lot of ways. If they have questions, you should do your best to answer them. Encourage them to ask about any part of the process they are not sure about. Don’t be afraid to have the conversation more than once to make sure that they understand what’s happening throughout the moving process.
Show Them Their New Home
A big reason why kids are often nervous and scared about moving abroad is that they don’t know anything about where they’re going. It’s a new country, and they’ve probably never lived anywhere else before. The best thing you can do is tell them all about their new home and help them to understand so that they are not quite so apprehensive.
Show them what kind of experiences are waiting for them in the new country. Tell them about the school that they might go to, the type of activities in the area, what kind of food they’ll be eating, what the weather will be like. These might seem like small, mundane details for an adult, but to a child, they mean everything. The more that you tell them, the more comfortable with the idea they will be.
Help Them Adjust
As a parent, it is your job to help your child adjust to life in a new place. This means that you need to show them how to handle the transition in a calm and adult way. Teach them how to speak a few words in the local language, show them how to follow customs and traditions. There’s nothing worse for children than feeling like an outcast from the moment they get into a new environment.
If you take the time to help them adjust, then it will give them a better chance at approaching this new chapter with enthusiasm and confidence.
Keep Talking
When you’ve moved into your new home, you still need to keep talking to your kids about their new lives throughout the first few months. Talk to them about school and their feelings, and build an active discourse with them about life in a new country.
You don’t want your children to feel like you’ve forgotten about them after you set up shop in your new country and started your new life. The normal everyday conversation goes a long way to helping them acclimate to their new circumstances and gives you a chance to connect with them. Remember, they’re probably having a hard time adjusting to a new life and culture - more so than you, in some cases.
Be Realistic Throughout
It’s a normal instinct in any parent to want to shield their children from the hard truths in life. However, there are some situations where honesty is undoubtedly the best policy for helping kids understand and accept their new lives. When it comes to moving to a new country, being realistic is the best way to do things.
Realism can be a lot of things - like being honest about how long you’ll be in the country for. If the move is permanent, then you need to be upfront about that, because kids need an opportunity to say goodbye to friends and process the situation.
If your kids are struggling to adjust, then a realistic conversation can go a long way. If they understand that this type of thing can take time to develop and they need to be patient. Honesty is a good policy in any communication with a child, but more so the better when you’re trying to move abroad.
Working Through Moving Together
We know that moving abroad can be a difficult time for everybody involved. However, you have to remember that children don’t have the same ability to rationalise and deal with new situations that we do. Young children and teenagers in particular will have a difficult time settling into a new routine in a different place surrounded by people they don’t know, many of whom will be speaking a language they don’t understand.
Obviously, we are not suggesting this is a reason not to try and move overseas, because if you have a good opportunity at your fingertips, it’s worth taking. What we are saying is that you just have to be a little bit careful about how you do this. You have to approach the situation in the right way, and have honest conversations with your children to help them understand what it is that they are going through.
The takeaway
Being honest with your children is something which will always pay dividends, so it’s worth doing because it gives you an opportunity to really connect with them about what it is that’s happening, and help them adjust to a new life in a new country.
Obviously, if you do want to move overseas, Pinnacle Removals & Storage are here to help. We have plenty of experience in the international removals industry, and will be more than happy to help you. To start the process of moving with your family, you can get a quote on our website.