Moving house as an adult can be an extremely stressful process, but if you throw in the idea of having toddlers around, it all becomes a whole load more difficult. The idea of having to get such a large amount of stuff moved around can reduce you to feeling like a complete child yourself, so having to care for a young child while you are having to sort so much else out seems like a nightmare that is just not worth undertaking! There are however many way in which you can make it manageable, so give a bit of thought to how you’re going to keep the kids looked after while you’re sorting everything else out. The best way to make sure that your little ones are well looked after is to have a family member do all of the babysitting. You will find that this is the most familiar surrounding for your kids, as they will most likely have been to your relatives houses before, as well as having met them previously. The idea of keeping everything as familiar as possible is extremely important, as it will make the move that little bit less of an upheaval for the children. The main thing that you need to balance is impact on the various parties involved in the move. You should make sure that the children do not affect the process of moving house negatively, but in doing so you need to make sure that you are not upsetting them by not being around to give the attention that they need. You will no doubt have considered the issues revolving around keeping your kids in good spirits during the move, as young children take a lot of looking after; from feeding them to playing with them, there is a lot of energy involved in maintaining a happy kid. The side of the process that you may not have thought of is the impact that the children could have on the move, in terms of their size and general elusiveness in wanting to run around! The idea of mixing a group of men lifting heavy items of furniture and boxes with a couple of young kids running about underfoot is enough to set the heart on edge. The removals men will often be in a position of impaired vision, in that they will be carrying things the whole time, often walking backwards and unable to see their feet. Younger children are often less aware of their impact on other people’s actions, and will therefore not necessarily be aware that they need to get out of every one else’s way, which can be a recipe for some serious accident, involving trampled children, flying furniture and removals men crashing down...This is obviously a slightly dramatized version of events, but it could be a reality if you allow your kids to be running about while the move is underway, so it is always best to try and get them something to occupy them. Whether it is a job of their own, like moving smaller boxes in their room, or watching their favorite film, you have to make sure that your kids are out of the way when the move is underway, especially if you can’t get them shipped off to a family member’s place to be babysat for a little while, just until the van is packed and the traveling part of the move is underway.