Ask any parent who has moved house with a baby or toddler and they will tell you the boxes were the easy part. The hard part was keeping a small, curious, fast-moving person safe and reasonably happy while their entire world was being taken apart and carried out the front door.
We are removalists, so we see moving day from a slightly different angle. We see the front door propped open for six hours. We see the ramp down from the truck, the reversing lights, the box cutter left on a windowsill, the little bag of cot screws sitting on the floor at exactly toddler height. None of it is dangerous when an adult is paying attention. The trouble is that on moving day, every adult in the house is paying attention to something else.
This is the plan we would give our own families. It is built around one idea: decide where your little one will be and what could hurt them before the day arrives, not while it is happening.
Decide where your child will be on moving day
The single most useful decision you can make is to have your baby or toddler somewhere else for the heaviest part of the move. A grandparent, a trusted friend, a regular sitter or a few hours at daycare all work. If they can be away while the furniture is going out, and again while it is coming in, most of the risk simply disappears.
If that is not possible, and for plenty of families it is not, choose one person whose only job is the child. Not “keeping an eye on them while I tape these boxes”. Their whole job. Parents who try to supervise a toddler and direct a moving crew at the same time usually end up doing neither well, and they tell us afterwards it was the most stressful part of the day.
Set up a safe room and leave it until last
If your child is at home during the move, pick one room to be their base for the day. A bedroom at the back of the house is ideal: away from the front door, the driveway and the busiest hallway.
- Empty it of anything that is being moved, except what the child needs.
- Put a baby gate across the doorway, or keep the door closed with a clear sign on it.
- Set up a portable crib or play yard, a few familiar toys, snacks, water and a change station.
- Tell the crew at the start of the day that this room is off limits until the very end.
A good crew will be glad you told them. We would much rather know there is a sleeping baby behind a door than find out by walking in with a wardrobe.
Pack an essentials bag that never goes in the truck
Everything your child needs for the next 48 hours should travel with you in the car. Once the truck is loaded, getting something out of the middle of it is not quick, and you do not want to be searching for the formula while a hungry baby works themselves up in the back seat.
Your essentials bag should include:
- Diapers or nappies, wipes and a change mat, with more than you think you will need
- Formula, bottles, snacks, sippy cups and water
- Any medication, plus a basic first aid kit and a thermometer
- A change of clothes for your child and for you
- The favourite comforter, blanket, dummy or toy, plus a spare if you have one
- The baby monitor, a nightlight and a portable white noise machine if you use one
- Bedding for the crib and pyjamas for the first night
Pack it the night before and put it somewhere it cannot be mistaken for “just another box”. Plenty of essentials bags have ended up in the back of a truck because they were sitting next to the front door.
The car seat, the crib and the hardware
Three things deserve special attention because they are easy to get wrong.
The car seat stays with you. It should never go in the truck, even if you are planning to take the car separately. It is the one item you cannot do without on the day, and you do not want it knocked around in transit.
Keep every piece of the crib together. When the crib comes apart, put every screw, bolt and allen key into a zip lock bag, label it, and tape it firmly to the frame. The instructions can go in the same bag. When it is reassembled, check it is solid before your child sleeps in it. A crib rebuilt with one screw missing is not a crib you want to trust.
Small parts are choking hazards. Moving day produces an unusual number of small, loose objects: screws, bolts, furniture feet, picture hooks, bits of broken packing foam. Toddlers find them. Do a quick sweep of the floor in any room your child will be in, both in the old house and the new one.
Know the moving day hazards
These are the situations that worry experienced removalists most when there is a small child in the house:
- Open doors and gates. Front doors, side gates and garage doors are often open all day. A toddler can be out and onto the street in seconds.
- The driveway. Trucks reverse, often with limited visibility of anything small behind them. Keep children well away from the driveway and the loading area at all times.
- Heavy things in motion. Furniture being carried is not being watched by the people carrying it for a small child underfoot. Crews look where they are walking, but they cannot see around a sofa.
- Tools and packing supplies. Box cutters, scissors, tape guns and plastic wrap all end up lying around. Plastic bags and stretch wrap are a suffocation risk and should be kept well out of reach.
- Cleaning products. If you are doing the end-of-lease or pre-sale clean on the same day, the chemicals will be out and within reach. Keep them up high or locked in the car.
None of this is meant to frighten you. Moves with small children happen safely every day. It is simply easier to prevent these things when you have thought about them in advance.
Plan the day around naps and feeds
Your child’s routine matters more than the moving company’s schedule, and most movers are happy to plan around it if you ask early.
When families book removalists brisbane crews with us, the ones with babies often ask for the earliest start of the day, so the heavy lifting is done before the afternoon nap. Others ask for the new house to be unloaded in a particular order, with the nursery furniture coming off first so a crib can be set up straight away. It costs nothing to ask, and it makes a big difference to how the evening goes.
If the move involves a long drive, plan the trip around sleep. Many parents leave at nap time or in the early evening so their child sleeps for a good part of the journey.
Watch the heat
Hot weather changes a move with a baby. Houses get hot with the doors open all day, trucks and garages get hotter, and a car parked in the sun becomes dangerous very quickly.
We see this every summer in Far North Queensland, where families booking removalists cairns are often moving in tropical heat and humidity. The same rules apply anywhere it gets warm:
- Never leave a baby or toddler in a parked car, even for a moment while you “just grab one thing”.
- Keep water and cool drinks handy for everyone, including the person looking after the child.
- If you can, get the air conditioning or fans running at the new house before you arrive with your little one.
- Dress your child lightly and keep them in the coolest room of the house.
Babyproof the new home before you unpack
It is tempting to start unpacking the kitchen straight away. Resist it for an hour and do a safety walk-through first, especially if your child is crawling or walking.
- Check outlets and cover any that are within reach.
- Tie up blind and curtain cords, which are a known strangulation risk for young children.
- Anchor tall furniture such as bookcases, dressers and TV units to the wall. Furniture tip-overs are a well-documented cause of serious injury to young children, and a move is the perfect moment to fit anchors properly.
- Check window locks and balcony doors.
- If the house has a pool, confirm the fence and gate close and latch properly.
- Put gates at the top and bottom of any stairs.
- Find the hot water system and check the temperature setting.
If you only have time for a few jobs on day one, make them the furniture anchors, the stair gates and the pool gate.
Make the first night feel familiar
Children cope with a new house far better when the first night feels like every other night. Set up the nursery or your child’s room before anything else, using the same crib, bedding, nightlight and white noise they had before. Keep bedtime, bath time and the bedtime story exactly the same, even if the rest of the house is still a sea of boxes.
Do not be surprised if sleep goes a bit sideways for a few nights. Most babies and toddlers settle within a week once their routine is back in place and the room smells familiar again.
Look after yourself, too
Moving is one of the most tiring things a family does, and parents of young children are usually starting the day already short on sleep. Accept help when it is offered. Order dinner instead of hunting for the saucepans. Let the unpacking take a few weeks. Your child needs you calm and present far more than they need the bookshelves arranged.
A move with a baby or toddler does not have to be chaotic. Decide where your child will be, keep their essentials with you, know where the risks are, and get the safety basics done in the new home before anything else. The boxes will still be there tomorrow.
Kyle Campos is a director of R2G Transport & Storage, a fully insured and AFRA accredited removals and storage company operating from Brisbane and Cairns in Queensland, Australia, since 2014. His crews move young families every week and plan each move around keeping the smallest members of the household safe.
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