Moving Overseas With Kids How to Make the Process Easier

You can make your moving overseas process easier by involving your children early, keeping your routines steady, and acknowledging their feelings honestly. 

However, we understand how stressful it is to move with kids abroad. And that stress grows even more when you’re relocating from Australia to another country.

But before you know it, this anxiety moves on to your children quickly. Now, you’re handling emotional meltdowns alongside international removals paperwork and customs clearance. 

In this situation, you can get relief from gooferman.com because we’ve helped Australian families handle international moves for over a decade.

And from that experience, we’re sharing this guide with you. So that you know the practical steps that actually work, from getting kids excited about packing to surviving moving day without completely losing your cool.

Why Moving Overseas With Kids Feels Overwhelming

Moving overseas with kids is overwhelming because you’re managing both shipping deadlines and customs clearance simultaneously. On top of that, you’re calming down a child who’s crying about leaving their best friend.

Let’s be honest here. Kids won’t understand why they’re leaving friends, schools, and familiar places. So they ask the same questions repeatedly, which creates daily meltdowns right when you need focus for relocating overseas.

It’s not their fault for behaving like that. In fact, every family member processes these changes differently. What calms one child down might make another anxious. That’s what makes this process impossible to solve with one simple solution for everyone.

Involving Children in Your International Removals Plan

The best part about involving children in planning is that they stop resisting and start helping you prepare.

And here are three ways to get them excited about the move:

Let Them Pack Their Own “Essentials Box”

Give each child a small box to fill with their favourite toys, books, or comfort items they want immediately. Drawing from our experience helping Brisbane families with international moves, kids who pack their own boxes feel in control. And that control means their most important belongings don’t get lost.

Quick tip: Label every box clearly so movers know which items stay with you until the rest of your belongings arrive.

Give Them a Say in the New Home Setup

You can also let them choose their bedroom colour or pick out new bedding before you move into the new house. These small decisions help children feel ownership over the change instead of feeling powerless.

That’s how, when you show them floor plans or photos, they can start imagining their room in the child’s residence. This visualisation often helps children feel more settled than parents expect.

Show Photos and Videos of Where You’re Going

Pull up Google Street View or videos of the new neighbourhood, parks, and schools to make it more real.

And the interesting thing here is that, if you show them what to expect at your new location upfront, it will take away their worry about the upcoming adventure. It also highlights fun spots like playgrounds or beaches, which helps build their excitement.

What Age Group Finds Relocation the Hardest?

If you want us to be specific, teenagers (ages 13-18) typically have the hardest time with international moves because they’re leaving established friendships. However, everyone has their own different opinion about this.

For example, some parents think younger children adapt quickly because they don’t fully understand the move. Others worry that school-age kids will struggle more because they feel the change on a deeper level. In reality, each age group faces its own challenges during a relocation.

Let’s look at the scenario of how different age groups handle relocation.

Toddlers and Preschoolers (Ages 2-5)

Young kids adapt quickly to your proposed relocation, but later they struggle with routine changes. Even at times, they may show regression in behaviour or sleep patterns that catch parents off guard.

Besides, since they don’t understand the reasons for overseas moves, they might keep asking you to go back to their familiar home. Here, you kids need family support. That’s why, keep familiar objects around them and set a proper bedtime routine. These small ideas will make the settling-in period much shorter for little ones.

School-Age Children (Ages 6-12)

This age group feels the loss of friends most intensely. They constantly worry about fitting in at a new school and making new connections all over again.

Unlike your little ones, they understand what’s happening with the relocation but don’t know how to handle the big feelings that come with it. In this situation, your mental health support helps more than most parents realise.

Besides, if you try to acknowledge their sadness while pointing out new opportunities, it will help them to feel their loss and find new benefits at once.

Teenagers (Ages 13-18)

Teens often struggle the most because they’re leaving established social networks during identity-forming years. For this reason, we suggest parents take extra care when a relocation involves a teenager. In some cases, especially where custody is involved, the move may even require court proceedings.

However, teenagers may become angry or withdrawn, viewing the overseas move as something being done to them unfairly (trust us, the silent treatment becomes an Olympic sport during teen moves). That’s why involve them in planning decisions and let them keep in contact with old friends through technology.

Pro tip: The best approach to save your teens from the serious consequences of moving is letting them spend their world online while slowly building a new one in person.

Moving Day Survival Tips for Families

Moving day with kids is where most families lose their cool, but it doesn’t have to go that way. Because if you have a clear plan, you can manage movers and children at the same time.

Now, let’s learn what actually works when you’re struggling with kids and movers.

Keep a Bag of Snacks and Entertainment Handy

Don’t forget to pack tablets, colouring books, healthy snacks, and activities in an accessible bag. And yes, this is the very first thing you should prepare the night before international packing begins.

Because hungry or bored kids will sabotage an already stressful day faster than anything else. And when moving boxes are stacked everywhere, and movers need your attention, this bag becomes your secret weapon for keeping children occupied.

Stick to Normal Routines as Much as Possible

Try to maintain regular meal times and bedtimes even when everything else feels completely out of control. Through our practical knowledge of helping families relocate internationally, we have seen this routine work out every time.

Why? Well, the reason is simple. Those familiar rhythms give your kid something solid to hold onto when their whole house is being loaded into boxes. Plus, even reading before bed like you always do has a significant impact than you’d think.

Have One Parent Focus Solely on the Kids

Most parents will tell you this is essential, and they are right. You should designate one adult to focus on child care during the move. This gives the other parent space to manage the movers and handle urgent tasks like labelling boxes for overseas shipping (Seriously, isn’t this amazing?)

On the flip side, you are trying to do both jobs means neither gets done well, and stress levels skyrocket for the whole family. At such a moment, the above strategy keeps your children safe, entertained, and out of the way during the busiest moving hours of your international move.

Make Your Child’s Relocation a Positive Experience

Moving overseas with children takes extra planning, but it doesn’t have to be a nightmare for your family. Focus on involving kids early, acknowledging their feelings, and maintaining as much stability as you can during the relocation.

We’ve seen that the families who handle international moves best from Australia are the ones who stay honest with their children about the changes. They also make room for sadness and questions of their kids while still moving forward with the plan.

If you’re struggling with your overseas relocation with kids, Gooferman offers free advice on everything from packing to customs. Plus, our expert team helps families make the transition stress-free.

So, contact us today and let’s make your move smoother.