Introducing a new baby to siblings
Written for SR Nutrition by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant
Please note that where I talk about a ‘child’ I am also referring to ‘children’ (and vice versa) and where I say ‘baby’ I am also referring to twins, triplets or more!
We are often asked about how to introduce a new baby/babies to their sibling(s). This experience can be different for each family, there are lots of emotions such as excited, nervous, happy, worried (to name a few) and this can be the case for both adults and children! Some children will be very accepting of a new sibling, but others might not, but please don’t worry about this as it is completely natural. The age of the child will also influence how much they understand the concept of a baby being in the tummy and then being a baby living in their house (they can be very different things!).
No two children react in the same way to when a new sibling is on its way, some will take it all in their stride and can’t wait for the arrival whereas some children take a little more time to adjust. This can be due to their age and stage of development; no way of reacting is right or wrong it is all about understanding their emotions.
The important thing to remember is not to overdo it, just be aware that you don’t want the impending arrival to be all consuming and the only thing that everyone talks about, as this can cause resentment or boredom! Take the child’s lead in how much or little that they want to be involved or even how much they want to talk about it. On the other hand, for some children, having a new sibling can become quite an obsession, with them wanting to be involved in absolutely everything to do with the new arrival which can also be quite intense!
There are a number of things you can do to help your children to adjust to having a new baby sister or brother – I have listed some ideas in the blog which should help you and them when the big day comes. Don’t force them to engage though, this can be a hard time for siblings – it can feel like their whole world has been turned upside down and it is all the fault of this new little person (or people) who seems to be taking all of Mummy’s / Daddy’s attention.
Try the things I suggest; some they will want to do and others they might not – it’s all about personal preference.
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