Becoming a big brother or sister can be an exciting time but also a big scary and confusing change. What can you as the parent do to help prepare a child for a new baby?
When I was pregnant with R, I knew that it was going to be a bit change and really thought that I was prepared and knew what I was doing to make sure Pops’ didn’t feel left out or alone. I spent so much time talking about things with her, encouraging her to feel kicks and speak to baby but she wasn’t really interested.
So how do you prepare a child for a new baby? There will be an adjustment however hard you try but you can use these tips to make it easier.
Be open and honest –
Explain how you feel and that you may not be able to play and do things they are used to you doing. Find other ways you can play and do things together (which will also help once baby has arrived too) so they still have positive attention and don’t end up resenting the baby.
Make them feel part of everything –
You could take your little one along to scans and let them help you choose clothes and toys. Let them feel baby kick and encourage them to talk to baby.
Talk about what being a big sibling will involve –
Don’t overwhelm them but let them know what being a big brother or sister involves, show them how to help with nappies and other little jobs that make them feel important and useful.
Don’t let the pregnancy or baby outshine them completely –
So many people will want to talk about your pregnancy and will want to visit once the baby has come along that it’s easy for your little one to get lost in all the fuss. Make sure you spend time making sure they feel important.
Books you could use to help –
There’s loads more on there you can check out too!
Have you got any tips for how to prepare a child for a new baby? Let us know in the comments.
You can find more pregnancy relate posts on our family section.
Until the next post,
Are and Pops.