If you’re about to have child #2, or if child #2 is getting jealous of your first child, consider this:
The arrival of a new sibling can be extremely difficult for kids to deal with. The attention is no longer solely on them — they have to share your attention with their younger sibling, and some kids aren’t ready to deal with that just yet.
But you can’t just simply tell your first child to “suck it up” and deal with his or her jealousies and fears. Another child in the family doesn’t mean neglecting the first.
So how do you find that balance between children? How do you help your child cope with feeling displaced and, perhaps, replaced?
From Natural Parenting Tips are a few, well, tips to consider if you’re trying to strike that balance between your children…
- Don’t label the emotion that the older child is feeling as jealousy
- Consider tandem nursing if you’re breastfeeding both children
- Involve the older child in helping with baby activities and chores, like doing his or her younger sibling’s laundry and changing diapers
- Communicate your love to the older child, because he or she may forget
Were there any problems in your family when it came to the point where your first child had to “share” you with the new addition to the family? How did you make sure that your first child wasn’t neglected?
Sibling Rivalry or Unmet Needs? [Natural Parenting Tips]
