When a new sibling arrives in a family, things change for your school-aged child. The time and energy required in meeting the newborn baby’s most basic needs are not only draining to parents, but they can take precious attention and time away from your school-aged child as well. It is not uncommon, for this reason, for the school-aged child to be jealous of a new sibling, or to resent the new sibling. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to go about preparing your school-aged child for a new sibling.

The first thing that you can do to prepare your school-aged child for a new sibling is just to talk to her. Tell her is a way that she can comprehend what is going to happen. Tell her that she is going to be a new big sister, and that the new baby will be coming soon. From there, use your listening skills to hear what your school-aged child’s concerns, questions, worries, or fears may be. Then, try to address those issues in terms that your school-aged child will understand.

Next, you need to try to make preparations for the new sibling as far in advance as you can. If the baby will be sharing a room with your school-aged child, for example, don’t hesitate to start putting in the baby’s bed, dresser, and changing table. By helping your school-aged child to adjust to these privacy and space concerns ahead of time, he will be less likely to resent the new sibling for the changes.

You can also help prepare your school-aged child for a new sibling by visiting friends or family that may have a new baby. This will help your school-aged child to know what her new sibling is going to look like, how she will sound, and what sorts of things that the new baby will do. If your school-aged child is sturdy enough, she may even be able to hold to baby, or even to help feed the baby. Giving your school-aged child this sort of exposure before the new sibling is born will help with that important transition.

Posted in Parenting

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