We all need a place to call home. Our haven, our castle, our palace. Home is where you can rest each evening to prepare for the new day. A play to relax on the weekends, raise kids, break bread and share drinks with your nearest and dearest. Home is where you should feel safe, secure and serene.
But what if your family home is a touch run down and needs renovation? Doing a home renovation is a goal of many families, especially if they buy an older home that needs some TLC and a significant spruce up. But renovating your home with kids can be a major headache. That’s why we’ve prepared this parent’s survival guide, which will share some tips about keeping calm and managing your kids while you renovate. Read on to discover more.
Consider Renting While You Renovate
Suppose you’re renovating your kitchen, including building new cabinets, investigating new rangehoods and installing dishwashers. In that case, you may consider a short-term rental property while renovating. The kitchen is one of the most-used rooms in the house. Consider how often you use the kitchen to prepare breakfast, make coffee, and get the kids’ school lunches ready every morning. Every night when you cook, do the dishes and wipe the benches down for the next day. Unless you rely on food deliveries, if you renovate your kitchen, your best bet is to find some temporary accommodation until it’s finished.
You can often find short-term rentals for a month or two nearby, or you could offer to house sit on a community Facebook group – you may find a family is heading overseas for the duration of your renovation and that they would prefer a house or pet-sitter, which you can offer.
Tackle The Kids Rooms One at a Time
If you’re renovating your kids’ rooms, such as remodelling the layout, re-plastering, installing new wardrobes or otherwise revamping their room, don’t do all the kids’ rooms at once. Instead, do it one at a time, and the kid whose room is being renovated can share with another child for the time the renovation takes. Or, they could camp out in the living room on an inflatable mattress or the couch if sharing isn’t practical. For instance, you couldn’t expect a teenage girl to share her room with a younger brother, so in this case, camping out in another room is the best way to manage everyone’s sanity.
Renovate in Stages
Similar to the above point, if you can manage it, it is much better for the whole family if you renovate in stages. For instance, if you do your bathroom and kitchen first, while you follow the above advice of a short-term rental, you can then return to your home while you renovate the rest a room at a time. As you’ll have your new bathroom and kitchen, you can at least shower, wash the kids, cook and prepare school lunches while you work around renovating the rest of the house.
Keep Your Cool
A renovation is a stressful and exciting time for the whole family. Everyone is looking forward to the new, renewed home, but everyone, kids included, is stressed at this time. Due to this, tensions can run high within the family. As a parent, it’s your job to keep regulated when your children cannot. Therefore, keep your cool as much as possible. If you’re prone to anger, you could look at some apps or resources to manage your temper. Remember that taking a break and walking away from a confrontation is okay if one develops during the renovation. You must set a positive example for your children about managing moods and emotions.
Get Your Kids Engaged
A great way to ensure that the family remains harmonious during a renovation is to involve the kids as much as possible. Bring them along to the hardware store during the planning and preparation stages to help you pick paint colours or tile designs. This is especially important if you’re renovating their rooms. Allow them some agency in choosing paint schemes, layout, or where the new wardrobe will be. This will ensure they feel part of the process and trusted and will work towards strengthening your bond. It will also help them feel more in control and less stressed, which is the ultimate goal for the whole family during your renovation.
Major Renovation? Consider Asking Family for Help
If you’re doing a complete remodel of the entire house, gutting it and starting new, it might be best if the kids stay with relatives until the home is ready to move in. A familiar face such as a grandparent, aunt, or uncle can help soothe any anxiety your kids may have about the process.
In Conclusion
This helpful article has shared a parent’s survival guide to renovating the family home. Follow this guide to keep your sanity intact and ensure your children’s wellbeing throughout the process.
