Handy tips for relocating internationally with children - Part 1

So the decision has been made. You have decided that it is best for you and your family to hire the services of international movers and packers in India and relocate to a new country, maybe for a better job, or to set up a business, or for education, or for any other plausible reason. But now comes one of the most difficult parts of international relocation, along with the task of identifying genuine overseas moving companies - informing your kids about the move and preparing them for it. Now, this is trickier than it seems. If you approach this the wrong way or mess up with the execution of your ideas on how to do it, it is very likely that your children may find it difficult to cope with the idea of a relocation and experience tremendous stress. If you want to avoid such a scenario, reading this series of blogs that will discuss some handy tips for moving internationally with your kids would be a great idea. So here’s presenting the first 3 of these tips.

Conduct a family meeting

Organise a family meeting, ideally with a sumptuous lunch or dinner. While you are having that delicious pizza, broach the topic of international relocation. Inform your kids about the reason(s) for your move. If you are moving because you have found a better job, tell your kids how excited you are about the opportunity. Convey your feelings about the move honestly and tell them how you think it will impact the family. Having a meaningful and honest dialogue with the kids is one of the most effective solutions for making the relocation easier for them.

Talk about your own moving experience

It is very likely that the impending relocation would be your kids’ first such experience. If they haven’t moved houses before, they will be confused about how to react to the situation. Their emotions may even overwhelm them. In such a scenario, it is important that you provide them with a sense of direction. Talking about your own relocation experience will do that with aplomb. Tell your kids about how you felt when you moved for the first time. Tell them how you dealt with it. Ideally, throw in some details about the whole process - like how your family planned the move, did you do it yourself or did you hire international relocation companies for the move, if you did hire professional movers and packers then how you go about finding them and how your experience was with them, etc. This conversation would help your kids to expect what is to come and deal with it better.

Encourage them to have a dialogue about how they feel

Kids may often be hesitant to talk about how they feel about the relocation. You would likely be very busy with the planning of the move and the execution of the hundreds of tasks associated with it. Kids may perceive this as a sign that you are unavailable for a dialogue and may shut themselves off. Irrespective of how occupied you may be, ensure that your kids do not harbour any such thoughts. Speak to them regularly and encourage them to open up about how they feel. If something is bugging them, you need to help them deal with it. And you can’t do that unless you find out what is bugging them. So have an open, heart-to-heart dialogue with them.

Also, Read - How to search for a job if you are planning to move abroad 

These 3 tips would contribute towards making the relocation easier for your kids. For making the relocation easier for your whole family, move with trusted providers of global moving services, such as Writer Relocations. In the next part of this series, we will discuss some other ideas for helping your kids relocate smoothly.