Dealing With Siblings' Jealousy: How To Prepare Your Child For The New Baby's Arrival

Having a new baby at home will change the life of every member of the family. Since you already have a child than you are fully prepared for your second one and know exactly what to expect but your son or daughter doesn't have a clear idea of how life will be when the baby arrives. Almost all of our children expect having a brother or a sister that is directly ready to start playing with them, so they will be waiting for a playmate, others would even consider their baby sister as a doll So the tips I will give you now will help you prepare your child for that big arrival.
1- Books: Yes, reading is always my answer. But in that case, I am talking about children books. Buy stories about having a new baby at home. Read them with your child, and discuss what you have seen in that book.
2- Explain to her how fragile the baby is, how much care he needs, that he might be taking a lot of your time and how you would need her help. It is so important to make your child feel involved in every step of the way, to make her feel needed and depended on. My daughter's joy is when I ask her to prepare her sister's bath with me, to bring me a bib, a diaper or a pacifier, to go check on her sister to see if she is sleeping. Even though I could do it all by myself but I intend to let her participate in the action so she won't feel left out.
3- Remember that before the baby came, your child was the center of that family and now she is asked to share all the attention and affection, and that is really hard. To understand what your child might be going through, you must put yourself in his shoes. I read in a book, once, an example that was very touching. They compared having a new baby at home to your husband having a new wife. They asked us to imagine that our husband came to us one day and told us that because we are so sweet, lovely and kind he decided to bring another woman at home. And when we all go out people will run to her first, then ask us: How do you like the new wife? Isn't she adorable; How would you feel then? This is exactly how your child would feel when the new baby arrives.
4- When you go shopping for new baby clothes, take your child with you, and let her pick most of the stuff. She will be very happy and will look forward to having the baby so she could see him wearing or using the stuff she got him.
5- Allow her to pick a small gift that you will wrap and save for the delivery day. In the same time, ask her what she would like you to get her for the same occasion and be sure that when you come back home from the hospital you will have that gift with you.
These are few of the tips you could follow to help your child deal better with the arrival of his new brother or sister. Remember that the main ingredient of a happy family is love and you need to implant that love in your children's souls from the beginning.

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