Helping Your Child Deal With The Birth Of A New Sibling

Helping Your Child Deal With The Birth Of A New Sibling

If you’re pregnant with your second child, it’s time to be thinking about how to prepare your first child to deal with “not being an only child” anymore. This can be a difficult transition for any child, and most, regardless of age, have some adjustments to make. Here are some suggestions to help your child be prepared.

· Talk about how special it is to be a big brother or sister. Discuss the baby in terms of how important the older sibling will be in its life. This is your child’s chance to be the big kid, which is usually a very appealing idea.

· If you’ve been thinking about putting your child into a preschool program, now is the time. Don’t wait until after the baby comes, or she might feel like you’re trying to get rid of her. She should have time to make friends and get adjusted before the baby comes, and then she will enjoy the chance to get away.

· Get her used to being away from you. If your child spends most of her waking hours in your care, it’s time to start having someone else take over some of this time for you. Maybe start using a sitter a little more, or sending her to play at a friend’s. This way, when the baby starts to demand your attention, she will be accustomed to having other caretakers.

· Don’t plan any major changes for her right after the baby is born. The adjustment to the baby is plenty, so don’t try potty training, or changing her sleeping arrangements during this time. If you can’t get these things accomplished before the baby comes, plan to put it off a few months.

· Familiarize her with babies in general, particularly the amount of care they require. Talk to her about when she was a baby, and all the things that she did. Then when the new baby comes, she will have something to relate to.

· Let her assist you with any baby preparations that she would like to help with, but don’t force her. She might think its fun to pick out nursery items, for example.

· Prepare her for the time you’ll be spending in the hospital, and explain what the situation will be like. If you can make it special for her, so much the better. When my daughter was born, we had arranged for my four year old son’s favorite aunt and uncle to come and stay with him at our house while I was in the hospital. He was looking so forward to their visit; he hardly noticed I was away.

No matter how well you prepare your child, there is bound to be some difficulty in adjusting to the new baby. My son thought his little sister was cool, but he didn’t much care for the fact that I was her Mommy, too. It takes a little time, but things work out well in the end. And, anything you can do to prepare them ahead of time will only make the transition easier.

BONUS : Helping Your Child Stay Fit

Would your child rather watch television and play video games all day than move an inch? Children are battling obesity and inactivity at alarming rates. It’s time to get our kids in shape now, before they face serious health problems in the future. But how?

As you can guess, the plan includes lots of fun. Any time you can add excitement and laughter into an activity, you’ve got a winner. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can help your child not only become healthier, but enjoy the process!

First, plan some family nights out, and by that I mean Outdoors. Catching fireflies, passing football, even camping out in the backyard get the whole gang moving. Plus, you’re making memories for a lifetime.

Secondly, kids love fun, unusual games. Check out a book of outdoor games at the library, and play some of the oddest ones. Use a tennis racket and large plastic ball for baseball, a giant exercise ball for kickball, and balloons for volleyball. The simple changes make the game more fun –sometimes downright hysterical!

Next, it’s time to look for a physical hobby – something that requires movement. Gardening’s a great one – plant giant pumpkins, King Sunflowers, grape tomatoes, mini carrots, and odd-shaped gourds for novelty. Check out a book on carpentry for kids, and let your child learn to build some simple items like birdhouses and feeders.

You may want to consider investing in one of the large, inflatable waterslides or rock climbing wall. Some of these inflatable items are surprisingly sturdy and provide hours of physical fun and exercise.

Finally, enhance your child’s creativity as well by having him or her design an obstacle course in the backyard. Beware! You may have to run through it, too! But activities that provide fun and fitness for the whole family can’t be beat!

Who knows? Before long you may find the video games on a shelf gathering dust. Wouldn’t that be a nice change of pace?