If you’re looking to move, Brisbane, Australia is the place to be. From the luxurious pools to the most beautiful views of the city from the water, you and your family can find a lot of family-friendly activities. Whether you already live in Australia and are looking to move to a different city or you’re moving to Australia from a different country, there are lots of tips for moving to a new city with children. Moving anywhere can be stressful with kids so these tips will help make the move more enjoyable. Keep your children involved with what’s going on, keep them occupied, purchase new things for the plane, get your children excited about their new home, and take a tour of the city.
In This Article
1. Keep Your Children Involved
No matter the child’s age, they can tell what’s going on when you are starting to collect boxes and frantically running around trying to get everything together. Moving is not just a big decision for you, but it involves your whole family.
Talk to them and tell them what’s going on. Even though babies don’t understand things in general, your facial expressions are what matters to them most. For the older children, leave openings throughout your conversation for them to ask questions.
Moving will probably be a little scary for them because they have to go to a new school, meet new friends, and settle in somewhere completely unfamiliar to them.
As a parent, you may want to ask questions to make sure they understand what’s happening. Make sure you’re using words they will understand such as moving, new home, new school. It’s important to keep your children involved so the process will put them at ease, and it may even be fun for them.
2. Keep Them Occupied
While you’re speaking with Brisbane property agents and looking for new homes, the kids need to be occupied. Leave them with grandparents or bring the grandparents with you so you can have someone watch the kids while you’re in meetings with property agents but still include them in the househunting.
This way you will have extra help. There may be lots of houses for sale in Brisbane that the kids would enjoy. Make sure you’re not relying on the children to help you pick out a house because they can be extremely picky. They mainly act that way because older children will not be excited about moving at first and will try to talk you out of it.
Bring them to open houses and have them explore. They may start getting excited. For the younger children, such as babies and toddlers, keep them occupied with travel necessities so they will be entertained while you ask the questions and look around each house.
When you’re looking at houses, make sure you’re not choosing a house that will require a lot of attention. You don’t want to spend more money fixing up a house that may not be worth it in the end.
3. Purchase New Things for the Airplane
The third tip is to purchase new things for the airplane ride. When kids get new things, they get excited and cannot wait to start using them. Depending on how far you live from Brisbane, will determine your travel time. You need to be aware of that ahead of time so you have enough things for each child to do for their age group.
You can also bring some favorite travel blankets and pillows for naps. The plane ride will be easy for both the parents and the children. When you start arriving in Brisbane, have your children look out their windows. They may start to see some sights, and they’ll start talking about what they want to do when they get there and their new house.
4. Get the Children Excited About Their New Home
Another tip is to get them excited about their new home. Depending on the time of day it is when you land, you all may want to go to bed. If it’s late, get a hotel room for one night so the kids can pick out their rooms and start exploring their new house and their neighborhood. Explore your home first before you visit anywhere else. Have them help you unpack.
This way your children can decide what goes where. It may make them feel grown-up. If you have teenagers, they may be on their phones talking to friends back in your old neighborhood. Have them give you their phones and see the house. Look at the backyard and see what they can do with it. Teenagers want their own space. Kids will start running everywhere.
Go for a walk in your new neighborhood and meet some neighbors. They may have kids the same age as your children. By the end of the day, your children will be smiling from ear to ear no matter the age.
5. Take a Tour of the City
The last tip is to take a tour of the city of Brisbane. You can do this the day after you move in since the first day is all about the excitement of your new home. You may be surprised by the number of things there are to do there. You could take your children to the zoo, take them on a boat ride, or take them to the local mall. There are also museums they can visit, and they can take a look at where the children will be attending school. There may be some local parks nearby.
Moving to a new city or a new country can be scary for a child. They are used to their routine for where they live, and now they have to take that routine and move it to a new place. It’s best to keep children occupied no matter how old they are because they won’t feel as scared. Keeping them involved in the process lets them know what’s going on and what they need to do to prepare for a big move. As long as you follow these five easy tips, your children will be just as excited as you are to move to a new area.
