Bringing Home the Second Child
As soon as my husband and I found out that we will soon have another child, we immediately started to condition our 3-year old son for the eventual arrival of his younger sibling.
We pointed out families with more than one child. And as soon as my body started to show, we explained to him (in the simplest possible way) what it meant.
Upon the advice of a good friend, we made sure that when our oldest son met his younger brother, we prepared a present for him. The gift was supposed to come from his younger brother.
When we finally brought our new baby home, we made sure (and are still making sure) that our toddler is not forgotten. And if and when we do need to give our new baby our attention (like when changing diapers or breastfeeding), we try to include our older son by enlisting his help.
All of the above worked. Our 3-year old son has not showed any signs of resenting his younger brother. He even runs to the crib as soon as he gets home from daycare. And for someone who hates being kissed, he is always caught kissing his baby brother.
What about YOU? What did you do to prepare your older child for the coming of his/her younger sibling?
February 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Melissa, Thanks for sharing with us how you’ve successfully helped your first child to accept his younger brother. Resentment and jealousy between young brothers and sisters are avoidable if carefully handled.
Best regards,
Chokyi Ooi
http://home-and-family.chokyi.com/parent-as-leader-a-new-definition-of-parenting-part-1