When your adult child embarks on relocating to their own first apartment or home unaccompanied, this major life transition understandably causes apprehension on both sides. While they gain independence, entering unfamiliar territory alone can feel daunting. Here are ways parents can support the big move enabling your child’s success.
Help Narrow The Housing Search
Your familiarity with their lifestyle, budget, and personality makes you a great resource for identifying promising options as they evaluate rentals or listings virtually. The property market has been incredibly tough, and your child could use all the help they can get. Share insights about neighborhoods, amenities, decor, storage, and other factors that determine fit. Guidance from someone who knows them well is invaluable.
Offer To Tour Together In Person
Making the trip to visit top prospects provides much-needed wisdom assessing options through an experienced homeowner’s lens. Tour together to help them evaluate space, construction, layouts, and surrounding areas in person versus just browsing online listings. Lend your view before they commit.
Assist in Arranging Necessary Renovations
If your child’s new abode needs any maintenance, repairs, or deep cleaning before move-in, offer to help line up licensed contractors to handle painting, carpet cleaning, appliance replacement, or whatever improvements the home requires to meet their standards. Vetting vendors aids in quality and cost control.
Assist Packing And Organizing
Making time to help with the monumental task of packing up everything they’ve accumulated over childhood gives you treasured bonding time amidst the chaos. Help create an orderly packing strategy. Offer organizational tips during unpacking to set their new home up logically.
Help Arrange Furniture Movers Or Truck Rentals
Based on what large furniture items they plan to relocate, research reputable moving companies or rental vehicles big enough to transport bulky possessions safely over the required distance. Having trucks and movers booked provides peace of mind as dates approach.
Personalized Housewarming Gifts Are Important
Present your child with customized home gifts to commemorate the milestone like personalized doormats with their name, custom return address stamps, embroidered pillows, and other special details that make the new space uniquely theirs. Cherished keepsakes bring joy each time used. And don’t forget about fun! Custom neon signs are a great way to bring some atmosphere and individuality to a new space. If you think that your child might want to decorate with a neon sign, check out the awesome custom options at Echo Neon. Whether you’re looking for fun illustrations or meaningful quotations, they’ve got you covered.
Assemble Needed Furniture
Spending their first night surrounded by unpacked boxes is depressing. Once unloaded, volunteer to assemble new furniture like beds, desks, and shelving first so their necessary living spaces are functional immediately. Making the bedroom and office usable brings comfort.
Help Unpack Essential Rooms
Unpacking an entire home alone is overwhelming. Offer to unpack key rooms like bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom first so basic living necessities are accessible. Once essential areas are organized, the larger task feels less intimidating. Check in periodically on progress.
Help Hang Decor And Pictures
Personal touches make new spaces feel like home faster. Offer to hang pictures, wall art, mirrors, shelving, and other decorative elements in ideal spots, allowing them to focus on unpacking. Transforming a house into a home more quickly aids adjustment.
Stock The Kitchen With Groceries And Meals
Ensure the kitchen has essential ingredients, sauces, and snacks on arrival so they don’t need to shop immediately. Even better, prepare several frozen meals or fresh-baked goodies offering easy homemade nourishment after an exhausting move. Stocking their fridge makes the first days simpler.
Help Organize A Moving Budget
Household budgets are on everyone’s minds right now. Work together estimating all upfront expenses from movers and truck rentals to utility connections, deposits, essential furnishings, and upcoming housing costs. Create a budget accounting for incidentals and surprises that arise too. Determining costs beforehand identifies potential shortfalls needing more savings.
Discuss Local Services And Amenities
Your child won’t yet know the best local options for medical care, auto repair, shopping, recreation, and services. Share advice about quality providers, hidden gem locations, and community resources to help them start settling in. Insider familiarity helps newcomers immensely.
Have Recommended Professionals On Hand
Provide your child with contact info for local professionals like plumbers, electricians, decorators, etc. that you can personally vouch for. This gives them trusted experts to call for any home assistance needs without sorting through online reviews. Your connections ease the transition.
Help Them Meet Neighbors
Show you care by introducing yourself to neighbors on both sides when visiting and sharing your contact info, so you can look out for each other. Also, walk together around the neighborhood to welcome your child into the community. Neighbors provide another security blanket far from home.
Relocating solo for the first time is an important growth milestone to nurture, not just a logistical challenge to tackle. Lend your caring guidance, then step back and trust their abilities to flourish independently.
