Moving overseas can often be a confusing time for children. The thought of leaving behind friends and family and a familiar environment can be daunting for some. On the other hand of course, some children thrive on it and are very excited the prospect of a new adventure. Many reports show that children generally respond well to a move abroad but there are a few things that parents can do in order to make sure that children settle in well.
Firstly, it is a good idea to involve your children in the moving process right from the beginning. This will make them feel that they are part of the decision rather than the move being forced upon them and will also get them on board at an early stage.
A popular idea for families moving abroad is to encourage their children to create a photo album or scrapbook containing photographs and letters from their friends and family at home. This can then be used when you have relocated if children begin to feel homesick. Photographs of frequently visited places can also be a nice addition. Furthermore, children can be encouraged to fill in an up-to-date address book so that they have all of the e-mail addresses, home addresses and phone numbers of people they want to keep in touch to hand. This should help to ease some of the anxiety when the children arrive at their new home as they can share their new experiences with people back home straight away. This is likely to make them feel a lot less isolated in the time period before they make new friends.
The issue of what should the children take with them is often a tricky one. A lot of children tend to like to hoard things, particularly old toys. It is advisable not to be too restrictive with this as it is worth noting that familiar toys and personal effects in a new home will help children to settle. In addition, you may have to replace them at destination anyway! It is a good idea to decide on an agreed number of cartons per child. You can ask your mover for cartons to be delivered before moving day so that children have time to sort out their belongings and to prioritise their favourite things. If there is some difficulty with deciding what to take, a good tip is to let the children sell their unwanted items or sell the items for them and let them keep the proceeds to buy new toys at destination.
With regards to outdoor play equipment, usually this can be dismantled relatively easily so will not take up much volume when shipping. Anything of this nature must be thoroughly cleaned before moving day.
If you are shipping your effects to a long haul destination, you may need to think about an ‘emergency’ supply of items for arrival until the other effects arrive. This can be sent either via air-freight or as part of your luggage allowance. Extra baggage allowance is sometimes allowed for first time migrants so it is worth asking your airline operator if this is applicable.
This article was written by David Ozard, National Sales Manager of John Mason International Movers. Get in contact through www.johnmason.com .