When the mother brings the baby home.
The return of the mother from the hospital usually causes great confusion. She is busy and tired. My father makes a fuss, trying to help. If the older child is present immediately, he feels anxious and abandoned. So here he is, a new member of the family!
If everything will be so, the child is better, if possible, at this time to send a walk or for some kind of excursion. An hour later, when the newborn and his dowry were in place, when the mother finally went to bed and relaxed, the child had to return. The mother must embrace him, talk with him and generally pay him attention. Let him raise the subject of a new baby himself when he is ready.
It's more tactful in the first weeks to pretend that you do not attach special importance to a new child. Handle it normally. Do not be amazed. Do not admire them. Do not talk about him much. How convenient, take care of the baby when the elder is not in the room. Try to bathe and feed him when the elder walks or sleeps. Many young children are jealous when they see how the mother feeds the baby, especially the breasts. If the older child is nearby, it may be present. But if somewhere else is busy playing, do not draw his attention.
If he also wants to drink from a bottle with a pacifier, I advise you to take this with humor and let him. It's a bit sad to watch an older child take a nipple in his mouth out of envy for the younger one. It seems to him that this will be a heavenly delight. But when he takes courage and tries to drink, a frustrated expression appears on his face. Just milk, and comes out slowly, through a rubber tube. Perhaps for several weeks he will sometimes ask to give him milk from the nipple, but if the mother will willingly give it to him and if he takes a number of other measures to help him overcome jealousy, there is no risk that his habit will be fixed for a long time.
Other inhabitants of the house also sometimes contribute to the development of jealousy in the child. Coming home from work, the father should not ask the child: "Well, how is your brother today?" It is better to behave as if he had forgotten about the baby, sit down and do his usual business. When a senior is interested in something else, you can go look at the baby. A grandmother can also be a problem if she is used to making a big noise about a newborn. If the child runs to meet her in the hallway, and she will say: "Where is your little sister? I brought her a gift, "- the joy of the child will be replaced by bitterness. If the mother does not know the guest well enough to tell him how to behave, she should keep a stock of cheap toys somewhere on the shelf and give something whenever the guests bring presents to the newborn.
When the mother takes care of the baby, the child - both the girl and the boy - is very consoling in playing dolls. A child wants to warm a bottle for a doll in the same way that mom does, wants to have all the items and equipment that she uses. But playing with dolls should not stop a child from really helping in caring for an infant.