How to Deal with a Child’s Jealousy of the New Baby

Just like any other kid in the world, it’s very natural for our little ones to get jealous of the new baby. But it remains up to us, as mothers, to turn these feelings of jealousy into love and affection.

Here are a few tips to effectively do so:

Let’s allow our children to express themselves and not hold back on telling us how they feel about this major change going on in their lives.
Let’s avoid forcing our kids into loving the new baby or judging their behaviors towards him with expressions like “you’re overreacting” or “you love your sister/brother, isn’t she/he pretty?”
Let’s explain to our little ones that the new baby does not mean that they are being replaced, but rather that we thought of getting them a sibling to play with, so as not to feel lonely.
Let’s reassure the child that our love for the new baby will not take us away from him and that we will always love them because we have enough love for everyone!
Let’s tell our children about two close siblings in their environment and point out the positive aspects of their relationship so that they can learn from them.
Let’s try our best to maintain the child’s daily routine in order to avoid him feeling nervous or insecure
Let’s make sure to spend quality time with our kids, away from the new baby so that they feel they are still of interest to us. A good way to do so is by engaging in some fun activities with them, inside or outside the house.
Let’s get our kids involved in the process of taking care of the new baby by asking them to hand us the diaper for example, or anything similar. With time, they will grow to love the baby and feel responsible for his protection.
Let’s quietly play with our kids or read them a story while breastfeeding the new baby.
Let’s praise any positive behavior from our kids towards the new baby, even if it was just one minute of playing with the newborn or patiently waiting for the breastfeeding to end.

Those were a few of our humble tips to help mothers deal with their children’s jealousy of the new baby. What do you think of them, and do you have anything you’d like to add? Please share with us in the comment box!