Congratulations on the pending arrival of your new bub! While this is a super exciting time, you might not know how to break the news to your other children or how they might react. Here are some helpful tips to make sure that this is a special time for everyone in the family.
Explaining pregnancy to a toddler
The age of your other child/ren will impact how you tell them about the exciting news. For toddlers, this concept of becoming a big brother or sister may be familiar if they have friends or cousins who have experienced the same thing. For others, this news could be completely new to them. Take this into consideration when preparing to tell them.
Some tips include:
Introduce the idea of a new baby by giving your child a new book. There are lots out there about becoming a big brother or sister! This can be a great segue into a conversation about your pending arrival.
Involve your child as much as you can while you prepare for another little one. Depending on how old they are, they may be able to help put together the new pram or paint a picture for their sibling's nursery. You could even ask them for name suggestions or buy them their own toy doll to look after.
Allow your other children to feel Mum's tummy and develop a connection with the baby. They can talk to them, sing to them and feel them kick. The baby will recognise their voice when they're born!
Try to spend time with other families who have newborns. Perhaps some family friends or a local playgroup would help to ease your child's anxiety, if they have any.
Once baby has arrived
Be sure to let your children know that you'll be away for a short while at the hospital when you welcome your new baby. Then, if you and baby are both healthy and well, invite your other children to visit you in hospital to meet their new sibling and still feel included in the process. You might even want to organise a little present that the new baby may give their older sibling to make them feel appreciated.
Our Community
At Discover My World ELC, we are here to support families every step of the way! Whether you need casual care, advice from our educators or just someone to talk to, our doors are always open. If you would also like to seek professional advice, we have an array of contacts from different establishments that we can recommend for you and your family.
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