MOVING TIPS
Moving With Kids (or Pets): How to Actually Get Through It
Nobody warns you about this part of moving.
They tell you to label your boxes. They tell you to book a truck. They tell you to disassemble your bed frame the night before.
Nobody tells you what happens when your 4-year-old is having a full meltdown in the hallway while two movers are trying to get a couch through the front door.
Or when your dog, who has never once chewed through anything in three years, decides today is the day he destroys his leash and bolts into the street.
Moving is already one of the most stressful things a family goes through. Add kids or pets into the mix and you’ve got an entirely different level of chaos to manage.
The good news? Most of it is preventable. You just need a plan that accounts for them before move day hits.
Here’s what actually works.
Set Up a “Safe Zone” the Night Before
This is the single most effective thing you can do and almost nobody does it.
The night before the move, pick one room in your current house. It doesn’t matter which one. A bedroom, the living room, wherever works.
That room gets nothing packed out of it. Nothing goes on the truck from that room.
That is where your kids or your pets spend move day.
Set it up properly the night before. Their blanket. Their pillow. Their favourite toys. The dog’s bed and water bowl. The cat’s litter box if that applies. The kids’ tablets fully charged.
Think of it like a staging area. Everything familiar, everything comforting, all in one spot.
When the crew shows up at 8 AM and the house turns into organized chaos, your kids and pets have a place to be that isn’t in the middle of it. They’re not underfoot. They’re not getting scared by strangers moving furniture. They’re not adding stress to an already stressful morning.
A safe zone costs you nothing and it will save you hours of headaches on move day.
Tell Your Kids Exactly What Is Happening
Most parents underestimate how much their kids can handle when they’re told the truth simply and clearly.
“We’re moving to a new house” is not enough. That tells a 5-year-old nothing. It doesn’t explain why their room is being taken apart. It doesn’t explain why strangers are carrying their dresser out the door. It doesn’t explain why the house they’ve always known is suddenly empty.
Kids don’t act out because they’re difficult. They act out because they’re scared and don’t know why.
Walk them through it. Keep it simple. Be specific.
Tell them the movers are coming to help carry the big stuff. Tell them the truck is going to take everything to the new house. Tell them their bed is going to be in their new room tonight. Tell them what the new neighbourhood looks like, what’s nearby, whether there’s a park.
If they’re old enough, show them photos of the new place. Let them ask questions. Answer them honestly.
The more they understand what’s coming, the less there is to be afraid of.
A calm kid on move day is a gift. And it starts the night before with a five-minute conversation.
Give Your Kids a Job
This one sounds too simple to matter. It matters a lot.
Kids who feel like they have a role in the move don’t feel powerless. And kids who don’t feel powerless are much easier to manage.
Give them something real to do. Not fake busy work. Something they can actually own.
Have them pack their own backpack the night before. Let them choose what goes in it. A stuffed animal, their favourite book, a tablet, their headphones, a snack they like. Whatever they want.
Tell them that backpack is their responsibility. It doesn’t go on the truck. It comes in the car with them. Their job is to keep track of it all day.
For older kids, you can give them more. Let them label boxes in their room. Let them be in charge of carrying small items. Give them a checklist.
When kids feel like they contributed to the move, they feel proud of it instead of scared by it. That shift in mindset is everything on a long, chaotic day.
Book a Sitter or Dog Boarder for Move Day Itself
This is the tip that gets skipped most often. Usually because it feels like an unnecessary expense on top of an already expensive move.
It almost always ends up costing more to skip it.
Here’s why.
When you have a toddler running around on move day, someone has to watch them. That someone is usually you. And when you’re watching your kid, you’re not directing the crew. You’re not making sure boxes go to the right rooms. You’re not keeping the move on schedule.
A distracted homeowner slows a move down. That extra time costs money.
The same goes for dogs especially. A nervous or excited dog on move day is a safety hazard for the crew, a liability for you, and a source of stress for the dog. They don’t understand what’s happening. They can sense the tension. They act out in ways they normally wouldn’t.
A day at doggy daycare runs $30 to $50 in most Alberta towns. A couple of hours with a babysitter is similar.
That $50 almost always saves you more than $50 in move time.
We’ve done 2,000+ moves across the Lakeland. The ones that go the smoothest are almost always the ones where the kids and pets are somewhere else for the day.
That’s not an opinion. It’s just what we’ve seen.
Have a Plan for the New House Too
A lot of families put all their energy into move day at the old house and forget that the new house needs a plan too.
Pets especially need a transition strategy.
Don’t just open the front door and let them run free through an empty house they’ve never been in. That’s genuinely disorienting for an animal. Dogs can get anxious. Cats can hide for days. Both can behave in ways that are completely out of character.
Instead, set up one room first. Before anything else comes off the truck, get their space ready.
Their bed goes down. Their water bowl gets filled. Their food goes out. Their toys are in the corner. That room becomes their home base while the rest of the house gets settled.
Let them explore gradually. Don’t force it. Give them an hour in their room before opening up the rest of the house.
For kids, the same principle applies. Get their bedroom set up as early in the unload as possible. Having their room look like their room, even in a brand new house, does more to ease the transition than almost anything else.
A familiar corner in a new place makes it feel less new. That’s true for a 3-year-old and it’s just as true for a golden retriever.
Pack an Essentials Box for the Kids and Keep It With You
This is one of those things that sounds obvious until 9 PM on move day when you’re tearing through 40 boxes looking for a stuffed bear that your child cannot fall asleep without.
Before anything gets loaded onto the truck, pack one box or bag for each kid that stays in your car the entire day.
Not on the truck. In your car.
That bag should have whatever they need for the first 24 hours in the new house.
Their pyjamas. Their toothbrush. A change of clothes. Their comfort item, whether that’s a stuffed animal, a blanket, or a specific pillow. A snack or two for the drive. Their medication if they take any.
Label it clearly. Tell your movers it doesn’t go on the truck. Put it in the car the night before so there’s no chance it gets mixed in with everything else.
The first night in a new house is already a lot for kids. Don’t make it harder by turning bedtime into a search party.
Prepared. Packed. Ready for night one.
The Move Itself? Leave That Part to Us.
You’ve got enough to manage with the kids and the pets and the logistics of a new house.
The heavy lifting, the strategy, the loading and unloading, that’s what we’re here for.
Every Fast Track mover is a current athlete or an active gym goer. They treat every move like game day. Your stuff gets handled by people who actually have the endurance to be just as sharp at the end of the job as they were at the beginning.
Flat-rate pricing means no surprises at the end of the day.
You don’t pay a single dollar until the job is done.
Serving Bonnyville, Cold Lake, St. Paul and surrounding areas.
Calm kids. Settled pets. Done.
Get a free quote here: fasttrackmovers.ca