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Over the next 9 months you will preparing for the birth of your baby and if you have other young children at home you are probably so busy that  you may or may not have given thought to how much the new baby will affect the rest of the family. 

Preparing your other children for when baby arrives

To ensure that the relationship between your other children and the new baby thrives it is important to prepare the children for the arrival.

The new baby’s brother and/or sister usually share in the excitement about the new arrival albeit that usually they don’t really understand what it all means.  At the same time be mindful that it is normal for the other children to feel threatened and somewhat jealous of the new baby.  Seeing mum and dad all excited about the new baby and perhaps noticing all the preparation for the new arrival may worry the child that his/her spotlight will be diminished.

For this reason it is very important to include your children when making preparation.  Talk to them about what preparation needs to be done, keep it simple for example perhaps the colours for the room, or perhaps let them select clothing items for the baby the likes of bootees, pajamas, shawls, etc. etc.  Read story books about brothers and sisters,  go through his/her baby photo album and make them feel special.  When it comes to selecting names let him/her have an input.  Always ensure that he/she feel secure and loved and explain to him/her that being the bigger brother/sister makes them very special.  Doing this will give him/her a sense of belonging and a sense of importance.

Grandparents

If your parents are part of your life, they will be almost as excited as you are about the new addition to their extended family.  Explain to them that you need their assistance in re assuring your other children that they will not lose importance when the new baby arrives.  Grandparents usually have a very special bond with their grandchildren and it is easy for children to feel just as threatened about losing their importance to grandparents when baby arrives.