Bringing Baby Home to Older Siblings

Bringing a new baby home from the hospital is a moment every parent treasures, but what about when you have an older child?  Is the older sibling going to feel resentment towards the new baby? Will they understand to be gentle? Will they be jealous that the baby gets more attention?

These are all questions every parent faces when bringing baby home.  There are ways to prepare your children already in the home for the new baby’s arrival.  Each family has their own way of dealing with these issues, but families bringing their second child home from the hospital don’t quite have a routine for this. These are some tips you can follow to prepare your child for the baby’s arrival.

Get your child prepared starting from conception.  When you are ready for everyone to know that you are expecting, let your child know that mommy has a baby in her belly and that they are going to be a big sister or big brother.  Tell them how much you are all going to love your new baby.  It is important to tell your child that they have to be gentle with mom because they could hurt the baby in mommy’s tummy.  They will remember this when baby is born and you won’t have as many worries about them being too rough with the baby.

Get a doll about the size of a baby and show them how to hold the baby.  Show them how you will care for the baby, such as changing diapers, feeding them, holding them and even giving baths.  Be sure that you are gentle and talk in a small gentle voice so they will stay calm and quiet around baby.  When children are using calm quiet voices, they are more likely to be calm and move in the same manner.

Encourage your child to have some alone time so they will get used to not having your attention at all times.  It is very hard to give your full attention to a child when you are trying to feed an infant or putting them to sleep.  A great way to get them to do alone time is by having them to draw the new baby a pretty picture while you load the dishwasher or fold laundry.  Of course it
is ok to let your child help you do chores, but doing this will allow the child to see that mommy is busy and can’t pay attention to me right now.

If your child is still in diapers, have them to throw away their diapers when they are changed so that when baby gets here, they will want to help by throwing baby’s diaper away rather than getting jealous that you are paying attention to baby. Just be sure to praise them and tell them good job when they throw their diapers away.  They will know that when they help you with baby, that they are doing good and face it, all children love to be praised for doing good.

No matter what, always give your child special attention every day.  It is important for them to see that you still love them and that you haven’t completely forgotten about them.  Tell them you love them and tuck them in at night with a bedtime story.

You can get more great tips by visiting the following website

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/sibling_prep.html

Related articles

• Prepping Your Child for a New Sibling (everydayhealth.com)