Moving with children: preparation and settling in

1. Explain the next step in words the child understands

Describe what is already decided: where you are moving, what will change and what will remain familiar. With younger children, use concrete steps such as “Today we pack books; your favourite toy travels with us”. With schoolchildren and teenagers, you can also discuss the new route, school and keeping in touch with friends.

Make room for questions and mixed feelings without expecting a particular reaction. Visit the new home or show photos if possible. Offer manageable choices, such as which book goes in the personal bag. If a date remains uncertain, say so and agree when you can explain more.

• Talk to each child about what matters to them in the old and new place.
• Plan a goodbye to familiar people or places where possible and wanted.
• Explain changes simply; describe a planned collection as certain only after it is confirmed.

2. Assign dates, supervision and moving work separately

Keep key handovers, the move, supervision and the first appointments at the new address in one calendar. Discuss a school or nursery change directly with the institutions responsible: documents, admission, last and first days, and drop-off and collection. Check the applicable process rather than assuming a universal deadline.

Give each task a name and a confirmed backup person. Someone continuously responsible for a child during loading should not also be counted as an essential lifting helper then. Even when you book games or an entertainer, explicitly agree who supervises the children during each period.

Verbraucherzentrale recommends recording individual moving services in writing. Umzughilfen.de refers independent partners; the identified business confirms scope, availability and price. Arrange suitable supervision and passenger travel separately.

• Bring general dates and responsibilities into the moving checklist

• Verbraucherzentrale: agreeing moving services in writing (German)

3. Pack familiar items and first-evening essentials separately

Pack a labelled bag for each child that travels with the family. Walk through the evening and next morning: clothing, toiletries, necessary everyday supplies, suitable food and drink, and an age-appropriate familiar item. For a baby, add the feeding and care items individually needed.

Let children choose belongings or label boxes according to their abilities. Adults check completeness and handle heavy or delicate items. Favourite possessions need not be first into the van: decide when they are needed and who actually takes them.

• Keep personal bags separate from the moving team’s boxes and clearly labelled.
• For schoolchildren, also check what must be accessible for the next school day.
• Keep contacts, keys, documents and chargers with a responsible adult.
• Check the sleeping place at the destination beforehand; a packed bag does not prepare it.

• Put together personal bags and shared first-night supplies

4. Prepare the children’s journey before loading

ADAC Stiftung emphasises suitable child seats and correct belt restraint. Check the specific seat’s instructions and suitability for the vehicle; with a different or hired car, establish installation and available space beforehand. Explicitly confirm the appropriate restraint for babies and smaller children.

ADAC also stresses securing luggage and moving goods. Keep intended passenger places and restraint systems clear, and get qualified help if the loading arrangement is uncertain. Before leaving, check that personal bags travel with you and will be accessible again at the destination.

Agree who drives and who can attend to the children along the way. Plan possible breaks and arrival around the family’s actual needs. The furniture-delivery timetable does not automatically determine the right departure time for the children.

• With a different driver, explicitly agree the address, contact and handover of children.
• Send the family ahead only after access and a responsible person at the destination are confirmed.
• If plans change, coordinate the journey, supervision and delivery again together.

• ADAC Stiftung: securing children in cars (German)
• ADAC: securing luggage and moving goods in a car (German)

5. Use explicit handovers on moving day

If supervision falls through, first establish responsibility for the children and rearrange the work accordingly. An unconfirmed helper is not a reliable backup plan.

Briefly go over confirmed responsibilities in the morning. The table is an adaptable sequence without fixed times. Supervision continues throughout practical work; whenever responsibility changes, everyone must know which adult is currently in charge.

Keep children away from carrying routes and work areas. A quiet place to stay needs to be checked first and have the agreed supervision. Older children can choose a suitable small task; adults organise access, heavy items and tools.

6. Check the first area before unpacking

For small children, BIÖG recommends secured windows and balcony doors, furniture protected against tipping, and medicines and cleaning products kept inaccessible. Check these points at the new address before children use the area.

Start with places needed in the first hours: arriving, eating, washing and the prepared sleeping place. Keep boxes, packaging and work materials out of the routes in use. Furniture still needing assembly or securing should be prepared before its intended use.

Unpack a familiar book or toy together and show the important routes. With every new delivery, check again whether the usable area has changed. A room labelled “children’s bedroom” still needs checking before it is used.

• One person prepares the area while agreed supervision continues.
• Discuss the arrangement with the child where they can participate.
• If keys, a bed or delivery are missing, confirm an actually available place to stay and sleep with supervision.

• Set up the child’s room step by step after moving

• BIÖG: safety rules for small children at home (German)

7. Keep the following days manageable

Start with the next morning: who wakes and accompanies the children, which items are needed and when school or nursery actually begins. Keep familiar routines where possible in the new daily life. Explore new routes together and agree contact with existing friends as wanted.

Ask concrete questions: what is still missing, which place is awkward, and what question about the new school remains open? Turn the answers into a short adult task list. The whole children’s room and the rest of the home do not have to be finished on the first evening.

If there is a delay, reconfirm supervision, personal belongings, somewhere to stay and the next update. This plan gives no fixed settling-in deadline. Let children ask questions later too, and adapt the next steps to the actual situation.

• Follow up unresolved school or nursery questions with the relevant contacts.
• Prioritise extra purchases and allow for journeys connected with supervision.
• Before new activities or a celebration, check usable rooms and how the family is finding the arrangements.

• Plan your child's first birthday party after moving

Questions about moving with children