Friday, 20 July 2007

When a new sibling arrives

My next door neighbour 'dropped' almost 3 weeks ago. She has an older son who'll be turning 2 next month. Since the arrival of his baby brother, I can hear him cry very often every single day. It's natural for toddlers to cry but it's not quite usual for him. I hardly hear him cry since he was born and I used to tell his parents what a good baby he was. But it all changed when his parents brought his brother home. Talk about jealousy and trying to get attention. I think it is very true that older siblings feel left out and not used to the fact that they are no longer the centre of attention once another baby arrives irregardless of how young they are. Crying, as in the case of my neighbour's older son, is perhaps an attention-seeking behaviour indicating that they feel neglected or threatened by the new arrival. I remember feeling worried that Louisa would feel the same with the arrival of Lavigne. We were told to prepare a present for her when she went to the hospital to see her for the first time, telling her it was from her sister. We did and I think it worked for us.

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