Babies Tale

Becoming a big brother or big sister can be a challenging time for a toddler. It is hard for toddlers and young children to fully understand the concept of a new baby. It is important to prepare your child for the new arrival and continually be sensitive to the fact that without the proper attention the new baby can be threatening and even scary for your toddler. Here are a few ways to make this transition easier on your toddler.

You can start to prepare your toddler for the new baby from the very begging. When you find out your pregnant start talking to your toddler about babies in general, once your toddler has been introduced to the idea of babies tell them that you are going to have a baby. Throughout your pregnancy show your toddler pictures of the baby from the sonograms and explain that the baby is inside of you. Show your toddler pictures of them when they were newborn and tell them the story of their birth at the hospital or home and let them know that it will be similar with the new baby. Get your toddler excited about the new baby; try to guess what it will look like and if you know the sex of the new child tell them they are having a little brother or sister. Take them to doctor’s visits and let them hear the babies heartbeat or feel the baby kick. The more you include your child in your pregnancy the easier the transition will be.

Once your new baby is born it is important to understand what your toddler may feel. They may feel jealousy toward the new baby; they may feel like you love the new baby more because it needs so much attention. Things that you do and don’t do can send the wrong message to your toddler so here are a few strategies on how to facilitate your toddlers adjustment:

• Set aside special time with your toddler every day and focus only on them, even if it’s only for half an hour while the new baby is sleeping. Your toddler is accustomed to having all of your attention and you may now find it impossible to give the same attention to them. By spending special time with your toddler if they demand your attention later in the day when you do not have time to give one on one time you can remind them of the special time you had earlier or that is coming up later in the day.
• During the first few months friends and relatives will bring gifts for the new baby and your toddler may feel left out. So have a few inexpensive gifts ready to give to your toddler so that they feel loved as well.
• Talk to your child about what it means to be an older sibling, let them know that the baby will learn from him or her and look up to them. Include your toddler in helping with the baby’s everyday routine like changing diapers of feeding time.
• A smart idea is to have a big kid box set aside for times that you will be busy with the baby and cannot entertain your toddler. A big kid box could be a shoe box filled with a few independent activities for your toddler. When you need to send your toddler to the big kid box make sure to join them as soon as you’re done caring for the baby.
• Don’t blame the baby if you are unable to do something for your child. This could make your child resent the baby. For example if you can not pick up your child while pregnant tell your toddler it is because your back hurts not because you are pregnant.

Whatever you do to plan for your new baby make sure to include your toddler in the plans as well. Make sure to talk to your child and answer any questions or concerns they may have about the new baby but don’t bring up concerns that your toddler doesn’t mention. By helping your toddler to feel secure and understand what will be happening when the new baby arrives you can ensure that this wonderful time can be shared with everyone in the family.

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