How To Move With A Toddler: A NYC Parent’s Guide

Did you know that emotion experts rank moving as the third-most stressful thing that can happen in your life? Packing up all of your worldly possessions, having the movers come, and setting up house in new digs is an intense experience. Add all the challenges that come with having a toddler or two around into the mix and watch the difficulty level ramp right up.

The Shleppers team is always talking about making moves super simple and stress free. So we’ll throw this right out there at the beginning: if you want the ultimate easy move with toddlers, call us in for a full service move. We’ll do the whole job, packing and all, while you take the kids somewhere fun for the day.

That being said, if you have toddlers, you also have a budget. If you want to save money by doing the packing yourself and just having the movers handle the heavy lifting, use these strategies to make things easier for your entire family:

Pack While The Kids Are Sleeping.

Yes, this will mean some sleepless nights. However, it’s so much simpler and easier to sort through items, discard the things that don’t need to be moved, and fill and label boxes without your little helpers around. Life is too short to spend hours dealing with a tearful toddler’s insistence he can’t live without the back-up popcorn popper that hasn’t come out of the kitchen cupboard since before he was born.

Chicken Nuggets, Hot Dogs and Mac and Cheese are Your Friend.

Of course we all want our children to eat healthy meals. And certainly we are concerned that the dietary choices they make now will influence whether or not they get into Yale. But during the busiest days of your move, especially after all of your cooking gear has been packed up, it’s more than okay to serve your toddler their favorite meals – especially quick, simple fare like chicken nuggets. Your kid will actually eat and as we all know children are happier and easier to manage when they’re not hungry.

Let The Kids Unpack Their Own Toys and Favorite Things.

No matter how wonderful your new address is, there will be a point where your child will hate everything about it, because they’re a toddler. Postpone this moment as long as possible by keeping your child busy. Pack all of their most favorite toys in a box with their name on it; they can be totally in charge of unpacking that box and arranging their things in their new bedroom!