Parenting: Helping Children Deal with a Newborn

Parenting: Helping Children Deal with a Newborn - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. Helping Children Deal with a Newborn They way you talk about the new baby has everything to do with how the child receive this experience. You want to talk about what would you like to do when your baby comes, you sort of want to put things in the child's hand rather than say,"We have to treat the baby really gently when it comes." Trust the child to rise to the surface and understand that babies need gentleness. You can talk about gentleness, you can read books about gentleness, and also remind the child that mom and dad have a lap that has two legs and two arms. So there will be plenty of room still for you when the new baby comes. I think that's a really good physical way to help a young child realize that their not being pushed out of your life, which is their number one concern. Then need the child around the issues of the baby. Like if you need another diaper, please send that child for as an errand runner so that he or she can be very useful in the life of the baby. And then admire the baby together. Just talk about, "Just look at her, wiggling her toes. Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen? Will you go get the camera so that we can take a picture of that?" So when you're involving the child, when you're including the child, instead of saying, "Go over there and play because I have to take care of the baby now," if you're allowing the child to be included you're going to have very little of that feeling of pushed out and then you won't have negative behaviors around it either.