Stay Sane While Moving: How to Find a Kid-Friendly Rental

moving with kidsMoving with kids can be stressful for all parties involved. While you’re coping with your own stress, trying to find a rental for the whole family, your kids may be worried about leaving their home or attending a new school. Before moving, you must ensure you find a kid-friendly neighborhood and a home with the safety features necessary to raise a family.

Knowing Which Rentals to Look For

Before you move, take a look at your current home. Is it kid-friendly? If you don’t have enough space for your growing family or have features that couldn’t withstand a family with children, then it may be time to look into a new home. A good family rental may have the following features:

  • Vinyl flooring
  • Closed storage
  • Rounded furniture

If you have an upstairs apartment or condo, the windows should have safety features to keep children from falling. Before you start your house hunt, make sure you have ample time. Give yourself at least 60 days to find a new home.

Think about the different amenities you want and which ones your kids need. Kids require a lot of space to play. Additionally, they come with a lot of laundry. It helps to find a rental where you can do your own laundry without worrying about dragging laundry to the laundromat.

Finding a Kid-Friendly Rental

What does a kid-friendly rental look like? When it comes to child-friendly homes, look for ones that allow kids. Apartment buildings may have a playground and homes may be in neighborhoods with other families with kids.

When you move in, you can make the home itself more child-friendly. As you scour new places, consider the potential. Do you have space to create play areas for your children? Are the carpets and walls easy to damage with messes?

Research the neighborhoods in advance. Check out online listings on websites like redfin.com and take note of the different locations, prices and number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the homes. In addition to using an online search tool, do your research about the neighborhood schools. All kids have different needs. If your child has special needs or requires private education, make sure some schools can cater to those requirements.

Keeping Your Kids Relaxed

Moving is stressful for every member of the family, including your kids. They may worry about leaving their current home, friends, school or any other familiarity with your place. According to experts, kids can develop depression during a move. If your children seem to be struggling too much with the move, they may require professional help.

Talk to your kids about why you need to move and describe the different advantages of the new place. Talk about the different activities you can do together to make them more enthusiastic about the change.

If you have a yard, consider growing seasonal plants. Many children love planting seeds and watching them grow. To keep your kids occupied during the move, consider creating a moving kit. The kit could have books, games, tablets and other devices to keep kids distracted during the move.

When it comes to moving with kids, they should be one of your top priorities. Make sure the neighborhood and rental are safe for children.

About The Author

Kristin Louis is a former advertising copywriter and has two rambunctious boys, 10 and 7 years of age. She created ParentingwithKris.com to share her experiences about the trials and tribulations of parenting.