Many people question…Should I bring them along? Or should I not bring them along?
That is a very personal decision for you…
I work with many parents. I am a parent myself. Some parents choose to bring their kids, others do not.
As a parent, I understand how significant this transition into a new home is to the entire family. It is life changing to all. Maybe to you, that means that everyone in the family is involved in every step of the way.
Yet, I also understand how demanding my children can be of my attention. Maybe to you, that could be a distraction to you in being able to soak in all the info and trying to make clear headed decisions.
What it comes down to is that you know yourself and your child(ren), better than anyone else does. You know which answer fits best to meet your needs in making decisions through this process.
I support and respect your plans either way. And if you let me know, I will do what I can to accommodate accordingly, either way. Maybe you are bringing along your newborn that needs to feed frequently, if I know this when I schedule, I will try to build in some wiggle room when doing a long string of showings so that you can tend to their needs as needed. Or maybe you are leaving the kid(s), but you only have a sitter for a specific time period, I can work to make the most effective use of the time you have.
I will put forth my efforts to accommodate for your needs as a family unit.
If you do bring along the kid(s), here’s a few thing to anticipate and accommodate for in planning in order to aim for the most pleasurable and stress free experience for both parent(s) and child(ren).
Anticipate that they may tire quickly. House hunting can be physically (and mentally) exhausting for even us big people. Those little legs running in and out and all around multiple houses…It can be tiring. Please be honest with me on how much or how long you think they will be able to last before their batteries run low. No need to test their endurance, because you know what tends to happen as their power drains…they start to use more of yours. You may need to start carrying them more, which in turn, becomes more draining to you physically. Or you may start working harder to keep them “happy”, which becomes more draining to you emotionally.
Anticipate that they may become bored. Let’s be honest, after seeing a few houses, sometime they all start looking alike…sometimes that’s looking like they are not the one. Imagine what they probably look like to a child. Probably pretty boring unless they are occupied by children. (Which then leads into a whole other point that we’ll touch on next). I know, I’m one that generally tries to limit my children’s screen time…but then there are times that I have admittedly relied on my phone or an ipad to keep their attention occupied while I worked to get some sort of task completed. So making sure that phone or iPad is charged up and loaded with games or video is not a bad idea.
Anticipate that they may want to get into things. Imagine your child walking into a room full of toys (or any number of interesting things)…they imagine that they have just arrived at a play date. It’s an overwhelming call and invitation for them to touch and play and get into things, which isn’t exactly a good idea in a stranger’s house. So it’s a good idea to have a conversation with them ahead of time, explaining the situation as you prepare them to visit these homes. Help them to understand that we are all visitors, and have to look but don’t touch the things we may see inside.
Anticipate that they may get hungry. Heck, you might as well anticipate that we will all get hungry. I know I don’t even need to advise you to have snacks on hand for the adventure. I think it’s just something we parents do since our children’s arrival…we carry food. My kids are 10 and 12 and I still carry a snack bin in the back seat of my car at all times. And many times, I’m tapping into it myself when I’m on the road showing houses. But maybe this house hunt calls for something special…something your child can look forward to as a special treat since this is a special adventure that they are on with you, looking for your next home.
Anticipate that they may fall in love. I believe there is something inside all of us, even as a child, that just gives us an “at home” feeling when we are comfortable and something seems “just right”. It’s completely possible that you will all feel something “click” when you walk into “the one”.
