Are you trying to find room for that crib in your child's bedroom and noticing they're not very happy about that new arrival? Sometimes kids embrace that idea of a sibling, other times they're pretty resistant. So I get questions from parents like what can I do to make sure my son or daughter is going to embrace the idea of a brother or sister?
First of all, invite them into the process. Invite them into the discussion about the name, about where the child's going to sleep, about the responsibilities of an older brother or older sister. Bring then into that discussion, but remember for very young children, three, four, five, even six years old, if your going to talk about something that's going to occur eight months from now, that's a long time down the road. I wouldn't do that up front. I'd wait a few months until it's evident and then bring them into the discussion so that they can understand this and the time frame is not so extended.
Are you trying to find room for that crib in your child's bedroom and noticing they're not very happy about that new arrival? Sometimes kids embrace that idea of a sibling, other times they're pretty resistant. Dr. Randy Cale explains some solutions.
Secondly, some kids are going to be resistant. They just aren't going to like the idea of a sibling. When they resist, I would encourage you, don't fight them on this, don't try to convince them that it's going to be the best thing. Instead, pull back a little bit. Don't try to give them all the arguments and all the reasons why it's going to be great. Just pull back and give them a few days or a few weeks. Notice, as you're moving that crib into the room, they're going to ask some questions. Engage with them, discuss with them, talk about it with them, but make sure you don't give a lot of energy to that resistance.
If they continue, the third thing I'd recommend is that you just be very clear about reality. Now reality is this sweetheart, you can choose whether or not you're going to be happy about this, but you can't choose whether or not your brother or sister is coming. You've gotta just give them the bottom line at some point and let them learn to deal with it.
So if you follow those simple tips, most kids learn to adjust quickly, and life moves on a smooth and comfortable way.