Preparing your child for a new sibling
When I was pregnant with my first child, I would dream about what he would look like, the little person he would grow into being and how our life would be as a family of 3. When I was pregnant with my second child, I wondered all of those things but there was the added excitement knowing I’d get to see a sibling bond grow and imagining how my two little ones would interact as brothers.
A lot of how your child copes with a new sibling is contributed by their age and their personality we turned to our Facebook community to find out how they helped prepare their child (or children) for a sibling and what worked for them.
Toddlers
- Help your toddler feel your bump and the baby kicking
- Read books to help explain what the baby will be like (we had two great ones called ‘My New Baby’ and ‘There’s a House Inside My Mummy’)
- Buy your toddler a baby doll and demonstrate how to be gentle with baby
- Sing nursery rhymes together to your baby bump
Pre-schoolers
- Let them feel baby kicking
- If possible, take your pre-schooler along to a scan or look at the ultrasound images together
- Talk about becoming a big brother or sister and what an important and special job that is
- Buy your pre-schooler a baby doll that they can pretend to feed, change and rock to sleep just like Mummy does (we didn’t do this however my eldest was just over 2 when his little brother was born and would often ‘breastfeed’ his Buzz Lightyear toy!)
- Put together a bag of stickers, pencils, colouring books etc that your pre-schooler can do at the hospital - check out our great range here
We've got a gorgeous range of gifts and toys online!
Older Children
- Encourage them to feel the baby kicking
- Take your child along to a scan
- Make a guessing game out of the baby’s weight and gender.
- Shop for a special ‘coming home’ outfit for the new baby
- Ask for their input when setting up the baby’s room
- Talk about baby names with your child
- Read ‘week by week’ updates on the pregnancy and how baby is growing
How did you prepare your child or children for a new sibling? What tips would you add to our list?
