How do you prepare the children for the move?

How do you prepare the children for the move, step by step?

1. 1

   Step 1: Tell them about the move when it's decided and explain what will happen, when and where you are moving.

2. 2

   Step 2: Let everyone in the family say what they think and what they are worried about, before and after the decision.

3. 3

   Step 3: Stick to the routines for food, sleep and laying during the weeks around the move.

4. 4

   Step 4: Apply for preschool or school in the new municipality. In Gothenburg, school applications are accepted at the earliest six months before the move.

5. 5

   Step 5: Notify Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) of the children's move at the same time as your own, before the move or at the latest one week after.

6. 6

   Step 6: Let the child pack a box with the essentials and unpack it first in the new home. our advice

7. 7

   Step 7: Tell the preschool or school that you are moving, so that the staff know why the child may react. our advice

Source: 1177: Stress in children, Bris: "We wanted to move but the children refused", Gothenburg City: School change, Skatteverket: Flyttanmälan. The steps marked as our advice are the editorial staff's own.

How do children react to a move?

1177 counts moving and school change as things that can cause stress in children, and writes that even changes that seem positive sometimes lead to stress reactions. Children have less opportunity than adults to control their situation and react a lot to whether the adults around them are stressed. Therefore, it matters how you are doing during the moving weeks.

Stress in children is often visible in the body. Common symptoms are headaches, stomach aches and tense muscles, but also that the child sleeps poorly, shows strong emotions or has difficulty concentrating in school. The younger the child, the less they say with words. 1177 also writes that children can sleep restlessly during a major change like a move, and that many have more nightmares when they are about to move.

Source: 1177: Stress in children, 1177: Sleep disorders in children.

How do you talk to the children about the move?

Children can become stressed by not knowing what will happen, writes 1177. Different children need to know different things in advance, but it helps to talk about how the days and weeks will look and what the others in the family will do. Ask the child what they think about school, friends and leisure time, and change what can be changed.

Say rather "we are moving in March and you will start at the new school the week after" than "we will see". Show the new home, school and the way there before the move if possible. That is our advice.

Source: 1177: Stress in children. The example and the advice to show the new place are ours.

Should the children be allowed to decide?

Bris has told about a family where the children got so upset over a planned move that the mother declined the job. In their comment, Bris writes that every family needs to make their own decisions, and that it is wise to let everyone in the family have a say. Bris also mentions that one parent can move first and the family can follow.

That the child gets to say their part does not mean the child decides. If you want to talk to someone outside about what to do, you can call Bris adult phone for children, 077-150 50 50, weekdays 9 to 13. You can be anonymous.

Source: Bris: "We wanted to move but the kids refused", Bris: Support lines for adults about children.

How to move with a baby or small children?

In a baby, stress usually depends on not getting enough closeness and care, writes 1177. The smallest children need above all the same adult, food and sleep as usual, even when there are moving boxes everywhere. Clear routines around bedtime help the child know when it's time to sleep. Many children feel safe if an adult sits next to the bed until they have fallen asleep.

If the child is to start preschool in Gothenburg, you can apply for a place at the earliest 180 days before the child needs it, and the child can get a place from the age of one. If the application has been received at least 120 days before the desired date, the municipality is obliged to offer a place, if you and the child are registered in Gothenburg. More about preschool is on the page about preschool and school in Gothenburg.

Source: 1177: Stress in children, 1177: Sleep disorders in children, Gothenburg City: Nursery application for children not registered in Gothenburg.

How do you change school or nursery when moving?

You apply in the municipality you are moving to. Gothenburg City, for example, is required to offer a preschool place if you are registered there, so flyttanmälan (notification of change of address) does it on time. For preschool, the Education Act states that the municipality must offer a place within four months of you reporting the request, as close to home as possible and with reasonable consideration to what you want. In elementary school, the student should be placed in the school you want, unless it displaces another student's right to a school close to home. Those who already have a place have the right to continue, so a school change within the same municipality is something you apply for, not something that happens automatically.

If the child changes high school when moving, contact the high school admission in the new municipality as soon as you know the move date (our advice). How it works in Gothenburg is stated below.

Source: School Act (2010:800), Gothenburg City: Pre-school application for children not registered in Gothenburg, Skatteverket: Flyttanmälan. Chapters 8, 14 and 15 §§ and 10, 30 and 31 §§ of the School Act.

When should you apply for school if you move to Gothenburg?

Gothenburg City receives the application at the earliest six months before you move and places the child about four weeks before the date you want. The application must include the new tenancy contract or population registration change from Skatteverket, and the contract must specify when you move in. If the school you want is full, the child will be given a place at another school near home, and this cannot be declined.

If you are moving within Gothenburg, the child can keep their school place. If you want to apply for a new school, the application must be submitted within six months of the move date to be considered an intra-city move. The entire process is described under school when you move, and the notification of the children's new address is in the guide on population registration.

Source: Gothenburg City: School change, Skatteverket: Flyttanmälan.

Where can you turn if the child is unwell after the move?

Start with school. 1177 advises you to contact the class teacher, mentor or school health services if the child is stressed or feels alone or left out, and the one responsible for the preschool if the child attends it. Children under six years can get help through the child health centre, BVC, and children from 13 years at a youth clinic. You can also contact a health centre or child and adolescent psychiatry, bup.

For you as an adult, there is Bris adult phone, 077-150 50 50, and the association Minds parent phone, 020-85 20 00. Talk to the child before contacting the school, so the child can choose whether to participate. What you need to do before moving day, you collect in Your moving plan.

Source: 1177: Stress in children, Bris: Support lines for adults about children.