Moving is hard enough…
…but multiplying it by having kids and doing it in a city as bustling and hectic as New York City makes it incredibly complicated. A move can be a very difficult transition for children, even if it’s just one across town.
Just like at the start of the school year, a move can be a difficult transition period for children. However, moving can also be an excellent opportunity to get a new lease on life if you allow it to be.
Moving to the NYC area means discovering a new neighborhood, eating its cuisine, meeting its residents, and expanding your horizons just a little bit further. We’ve been moving around the blocks of Manhattan and the other boroughs long enough to know the ins and outs of moving with kids in this city.
Once you help your children handle the stressful parts of moving, you may find they have something new discover in their new surroundings after the move.
Keep Kids Involved in the Process
Kids like to have their say in whatever they can, considering they don’t control much of what goes on in their own lives. Letting your child weigh in about the layout of your new home allows them to grow more comfortable with the transition they are making.
Kids can have a say in what goes in their own room, but they can also give their opinions on buying furniture and electronics for common areas, as well as recommending some accessories to round out your new abode.
Move Kids’ Stuff in First
A kid’s stress relief regimen is generally lead by creature comforts. Being a kid can be stressful, and often kids retreat to familiar surroundings to help relieve some of their anxiety.
Moving disrupts a lot of this familiarity, but parents can help resolve this by setting up their kids’ belongings in their new home early on. This allows kids to gain an earlier sense of familiarity in their new home, while reminding them their life will not be that different than the one in their old home.
Establish Familiarity
It doesn’t take a parenting expert to know kids love pizza. Maybe not every kid loves pizza, but it’s generally true that the New York favorite is a staple of children’s preferred cuisine. One of the best benefits to living in New York is that you’re never far from a wonderful pizza restaurant.
Take your kids to the local pizza place to remind them their new neighborhood’s got plenty of things they like. The same holds true for the local bodegas, parks & playgrounds, movie theaters, toy stores, or whatever is in your area they might like.
There are so many great things to do near most places NYC families call home, as Mommybites’s 5 great family activities in Brooklyn illustrates clearly for BK. If you’re not moving to Brooklyn, try using Seamless, Google Maps and Yelp to help find the best establishments and areas near you to visit.
Use Your Resources
Don’t be too afraid to look for a little help. Moving is really stressful and getting accustomed to a new neighborhood can be tough too. Parents League of New York has a helpful page on their site listing, among other things, links to help NYC parents book a babysitter if needed. Mommybites also has mom- recommended NYC nannies.
Parents can join a network of like-minded moms and/or dads to commiserate and collaborate on their lives as parents. Some of these groups entail in-person meetups, while others just gather on the web in spaces like Facebook groups. This Time Out New York post details some of the most prominent groups, but there’s likely one nearby that’s perfect for the social butterfly in your family.
Nancy Zafrani is the general manager of Oz Moving & Storage. A day one employee of Oz, she has 25 years of experience in the moving industry. As a New York parent, Nancy has a lot of experience raising her kids in this city, as well as helping her friends with children.
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