5 top tips for how to prepare children for a new sibling

The other day I suddenly had Braxton Hicks contractions more frequently than what I was comfortable with, but I really didn’t feel I had time to go to the hospital, so I jumped out of the car in The Boltons and desperately hoped I could shake them off. I was so worried about missing Baby Girl’s nursery pick-up time.

The new baby didn’t arrive that day, but it’s incredibly different to be pregnant the second time around, and now it’s all about preparing Baby Girl for the arrival of the new baby.

Here are 5 top tips from Melissa Hood of The Parent Practice on how to best prepare children for a new sibling:

1. Plan ahead and try to minimise other changes when the newborn arrives. If your toddler is about to be potty-trained, or move into a big bed, or start nursery school, plan this to happen well before the baby is due to arrive, or delay it until the dust has settled

2. Train them to play independently or spend time with others, so you have time to look after the newborn

3. Prepare them for how they might feel about the new baby and what they can do when they feel like that

4. Discuss what will need to be done for the new baby and what baby will do, and how they can help you, playing with baby and teaching baby how to do things. Your baby will smile when your older child plays with him –point out how much baby loves that

5. Look at photos of the children as babies, commenting on how cute but how helpless they were and how much they needed doing for them. Talk about how much the children have learnt as they’ve gotten older

OFFER: Get 20% off all 10-week positive parenting courses by The Parent Practice in Kensington and Chelsea if booked by 10 June, making the course £400 instead of £500. Siblings is one of the topics covered in this course. The Parent Practice also offers an online parenting course, and as Mummy in the City is an affiliate member of The Parent Practice, readers can also click HERE for a 20% discount off the online course fee

Tags: Chelsea, Discount code, Kensington, Online course, Parenting, Parenting course, Reader offer, Siblings, The Parent Practice