Siblings and the new Born! Managing a Positive Interaction

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For those of you who already have a baby or young child, whilst expecting another, this will undoubtedly be a time when you may notice some potential changes in the behaviour of your child.

This is quite normal, as from the child’s point of view, they fear they now have competition with the new sibling, and may no longer be the dominant focus of attention.

Even though it is natural for you to be excited about the impending arrival of your new baby, it is important to discuss these issues with your baby, or young child, so that any fears or resentments may be placed at ease.

It is natural for older siblings to act out their fears by sometimes regressing in their behaviour.

This means that they will suddenly start to have accidents that they haven’t had for a while, or possibly tend to have more tantrums.

All these bahviours are normal, but there are ways to reduce the likely hood of this happening.

It is important to involve the older siblings wherever possible, and a good way to do this is to discuss the impending arrival of another brother or sister, once your pregnancy becomes more obvious.

This also helps to explain where babies come from, but can be done in an innocent way, without necessarily covering the other more in depth details.

Naturally, this is a personal choice for you as parents, and will depend on the age of the older sibling.

It can also be beneficial to get them involved in the decoration of the new nursery, or in having their input in areas where they are able to cope for their age.

The results of this will depend on your ability to reassure and involve your child, to avoid them feeling resentful and alienated.

These things all combine to make the arrival of the new sibling an exciting and positive development in your child’s life.

Again, I would like to emphasize the importance of reassurance and involvement. Once the baby is born, it can be a good idea to introduce the child to their new sibling as soon as possible, and it can also be beneficial to arrive home with someone else carrying the baby, instead of Mom, in the event the older child has been at home.

Once the child realizes they are still involved in the family, they will generally settle down with their new brother and sister, and be positive.

It is always a good idea to keep an eye on things at first, to ensure there are no jealousy issues.

Discipline with Love

When I refer to discipline, this covers the over all way the child is taught to behave in different situations, and recognizing the importance of this will greatly enhance your child's ability to deal with different situations in life.

It also becomes a bigger issue where siblings are involved.

I have come accross a great site about children's and sibling discipline which goes into great detail about different areas for children's discipline, explaining that love is the primary ingredient in discipline. The site explains that selective discipline with love will achieve great results, and I am a firm believer in this concept.

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