Moving to Australia with kids

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Top tips for relocating to Australia with kids

The number of families moving overseas to Australia is on the rise. In fact, it is quickly becoming a top item on many people’s bucket list. While exploring a new city and culture is exciting and inspiring, the actual logistics of uprooting your entire family and moving them across the globe can be daunting.

With its wide-open spaces and year-round sunshine, Australia is a great place to raise a family. However, an international move of this scale this large can elicit a variety of different emotions in both parents and kids. Knowing what to expect and carefully planning your move overseas can help smooth the transition, for both you and your children.

With over 70 years experience in helping families make the move internationally, Kent Removals & Storage really have seen it all before. So, we’ve collated some helpful moving tips and tools to assist you when making an overseas move with kids.

Engage and communicate

Above all else, communicating honestly and openly with your children will help in the long run. As is the case with any major change, your child will most likely feel a sense of sadness and stress when faced with the idea of moving. Allow them to discuss their fears and concerns with you, showing them you appreciate and understand their emotions, reassuring them it will be okay.

Together with your child, learn about and research Australia. Look on the Internet and read them books about Australia, showing them all that the country has to offer. Stories are a great way for children to open up, and there have been many written on the subject of moving. Books allow children to identify and express their emotions by empathising with the characters they’re reading about.

Say proper goodbyes

It is crucial when relocating anywhere around the world to allow your children to say a proper goodbye. Not only should this be to their current home and surroundings, but all of their friends and loved ones they will miss.

Have your kids collect contact details of their friends to ensure they can keep in contact after the move. These days, with technology like Skype, it is easy to stay in touch over long distances. Reassuring you kids that they are able to stay in touch and maintain existing friends, even though they are in another country, can help reduce homesickness.

Help them settle in immediately

It is important that your child attempts to forge new friendships immediately. You can help them in this by getting to know your neighbours and other people in your new local community. Most kids can make friends anywhere, so placing them in the right environment is a sure fire way to encourage new friendships.

Enrolling your children in sports or activities can be a great way to meet children. Be proactive in these situations, inviting kids over to play or arranging a classmate to come over after school.

Find the right school

In Australia, the best schools can be competitive to get into. Once you have made the decision to move, it may be worth doing adequate research to ensure you find the best school for you and your family. Some companies, like Kent, have an extensive range of relocation services and can even assist expats in finding the right school to suit your family’s needs.

Maintain strong ties to your home country

It is important to embrace the country from which you are departing, and encourage your kids not to forget their roots. Keeping in contact with friends and family through correspondence is a good way to encourage this. Maintain the same festivals and special occasions that you had back home, keeping these traditional alive, even in a new country.

There are many opportunities to help your child feel at home in a new country. Exposing them to new parts of the world will certainly impact them in a positive way, which is why it is so important to do it correctly.

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