What parents need to do when their child is about to have a sibling!
A family usually has more than 1 child. The addition of family members is a joyful thing. But in most cases, many children reject the presence of their younger siblings. They think the presence of a younger sister will steal the love and attention of her parents. So it is necessary to give understanding to parents children. Here are the things that parents can do to prepare their next child:
Preparations for having a sibling must be made when you find out that you are pregnant or have plans to adopt a child. So what you can do is:
- Tell the child that he will have a little brother!
When it is known that you are pregnant or you want to adopt a child. Talk to your child about the arrival of a new baby or sibling. You can explain to your child where the baby is. You can answer their questions. You can also educate them through picture books about having siblings. Currently, there are many books that you can get about education about having a sibling, whether you can get them from bookstores, libraries, or e-books.
- Tell the child that you have always loved him!
Without realizing it, the child will feel jealous and afraid of being "taken" by his younger sibling when he begins to find out that he will have a sibling. So we as parents must continue to convince children and validate their feelings that we always love them. Tell them that we always love them. This is also done to convince the child's feelings that our feelings will not change. If the child is interested, we can include them in preparing for the needs of a new sibling.
- Teach your child about babies!
Furthermore, what we can do is teach them children about babies. If you have someone like a relative or relative who has a baby, then you can introduce them to your child. You can also teach that babies are still very dependent and fragile. Also, explain to the child that everyone should treat the baby gently. You can also teach "gentle touch" with dolls at home. And most importantly, you can also teach about the special role of your child as a big brother later.
- Describe the baby's needs and things you can do as a big brother!
Many children end up angry and having tantrums when they see their mother paying attention to the baby. This is because they still do not understand the needs of babies. Then you can explain to the child that babies must and often eat a lot. Usually it will be difficult for the child when he sees you are feeding your baby without feeling forgotten. Besides explaining, you can also include them in your activities with your baby. Children can help you to hold pillows for younger siblings. Helping to bring cloth and learning to clean up the sister's leftovers. Ideas for eating with younger siblings and so on. You can discuss with the children what activities can be done
- Talking about emotions with children!
Communicating about emotions is also very important. This is to find out what is felt and what you want to improve. So children need to know what emotions exist and are felt, especially when they have a younger sibling. You can imagine the child feeling happy, excited, frustrated, angry, and jealous. All these emotions are present when the baby is present. So reassure the child that it is natural and it's okay.
Prepare your child so that the baby's needs cannot be postponed. So sometimes the child will be asked to wait. Together, choose a word that the child uses to know that he is upset "I want attention" compared to the child asking for attention in a way that is not good like tantrums, etc.
These steps can be taken by parents when they are about to have a second child. Not only mothers, but fathers also play an important role in preparing children when they have younger siblings. Hopefully, the tips above can be useful!
By Salsabilatuzzahra Jaha S.Psi from the BehaviorPALS Center
Source :Program, F. B. (2020). Preparing your toddler for a sibling . Mexico City: Santa FE Community College. https://firstbornprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/toddler-years/new-baby/2-Preparing-7_1.pdf
Sibling, Preparation, Parents
Toddler 18 Months - 24 Months / 18 Bulan - 24 Bulan (Batita) / Parenting / Pola Asuh / Family / Keluarga / What parents need to do when their child is about to have a sibling!
Comments
Taking this classic to another level by combining this seemingly simple songs with Plutchick's Wheel of Emotions to introduce children to understand and express their feelings positively with introduction to Manners and Values in every step of the way for everyday life.
Personalized book to trigger the imagination and curiosity to discover the wonders of our wonderful Indonesia. The food, music, fashion, language, landscape and the culture. They all never fail to amaze us. What better legacy can we pass on for Indonesia than by instilling nationalism to the future generation of this part of the planet called heaven on earth.
Personalized book to trigger the imagination and curiosity to discover the wonders of our wonderful Indonesia. The food, music, fashion, language, landscape and the culture. They all never fail to amaze us. What better legacy can we pass on for Indonesia than by instilling nationalism to the future generation of this part of the planet called heaven on earth.
