A sibling is coming

A baby messes up your whole life. From the moment the pregnancy test shows “positive”, the future parents change. What will life with a baby be like? What name should our child have? How will we cope with our responsibility as parents? Which values ​​do we want to (pre-)live?

Even parents who already have one or more children experience an exciting time with the new pregnancy. Because with each additional child, everyone in the family has to find their place again. Adults are more likely to adapt to their new role than children. For them, the addition to the family means quite a bit of getting used to.

How can parents tell their child that they are going to have a sibling?

Well, children are usually very sensitive and it is not always to be expected that they will take this actually so positive news happily. Many a child will be thrilled that a new baby will soon find its way into the family. But many a child will perhaps also react in a wait-and-see manner or even angrily. Parents should be prepared for this when they tell their child about the pregnancy. The right time to get rid of this news is not so easy to find. In general, it is advisable to wait until the 3rd or 4th month of pregnancy . In the first trimester of pregnancy, children don’t see anything about the new baby. Add to that the likelihood of miscarriage is still relatively high in these weeks. Another bad time to share the news that the family is about to have a baby is when there are big changes in the child’s life. If the child is about to start kindergarten and mum tells him that she is having another baby, it can easily feel that he has been “rejected”. Jealousy and other negative feelings are not uncommon: after all, there will soon be a little person who will keep mom and dad busy. Of course, there is also the fear that there will be no more time and the child wonders whether it will then be loved just as much as before. We adults say: “That’s nonsense. Of course I still love my child!”. But children experience it differently. That starts in pregnancy.Birth Preparation Course . With all the anticipation of the baby: give your child a lot of attention now. Listen to him and take his concerns and fears seriously.

Preparing children for the newborn

As the pregnancy progresses, the child can better imagine that a new person is growing up in mom’s womb. There will certainly be many questions. How did the baby get in there? How is it developing? And how does it come out? Depending on the age of the child, parents can answer these questions in more or less detail. Well-illustrated children’s books on this topic can be used as a support. If the child is then allowed to stroke mom’s tummy and feels the movements of the unborn child, it can already develop a relationship with its sibling. If you like, you can also take your child with you to the prenatal care. With the ultrasound, they can clearly see the future family member and with the CTG, they can hear their heartbeat. And also tell him how it was when they were pregnant with him. You probably still have photos from that time that you can look at together. Your child will feel how much you were looking forward to it and how important it is to you.