Awesome Tips To Deal With Sibling Rivalry

Wondering how to introduce your new baby to your toddler? Hoping there’s no sibling rivalry? Rest easy. We got Aarti Pathak, mum to Arjun and Aditya, to share some sure-fire tips gleaned from her own experience with a new arrival

As the second baby arrives, there may arise feelings of insecurity and envy in the older child. Up till now, he has been the center of attention in his parent’s life but now he has to share his world with someone else. Children have feelings too and this phase in the older child’s life can be very traumatic. You need to exercise great care at this stage to help your older child adapt to the changed situation. You don’t want your child to hurt but, at the same time, you do not want him to feel that he needs to indulge in cute emotional blackmail for attention either! Tender loving care is, of course, essential but is not a panacea by itself. A bit of forethought and application of basic child psychology could do wonders to help your child and you to cope with the situation. In fact, it could make this an enjoyable experience.

Wondering how to introduce your new baby to your toddler? Hoping there’s no sibling rivalry? Rest easy. We got Aarti Pathak, mum to Arjun and Aditya, to share some sure-fire tips gleaned from her own experience with a new arrival

First and foremost, breathe and relax. You CAN do this. Make sure that the atmosphere in your home is happy and cheerful. Your child may give contradictory signals but rest assured that he understands everything. At times, you may appear stressed due to your preoccupation or when he accidentally hurts the baby. This may make the older child feel guilty and culpable. But by keeping a cheerful ‘I am on top of things’ façade, not only will you end up psyching yourself positively but your affability will make your toddler less defensive and more amenable to the younger sibling. Try the following:

1. Introduce