A new phase in the life of your child will occur when a brother or sister is born. To keep the relationships good in your family it is important to prepare your child for the arrival of a new brother or sister.

There are different ways to prepare your child. We will give you some ideas:

• Ask how your child thinks about a new brother or sister. Use books and pictures of babies. You can tell your child what a baby can and cannot do.
• Let your child participate in the preparations. For example in the new baby room.
• Show your child pictures of the time he or she was little. With these pictures your child can imagine what it is like to have a little baby and what things are necessary.
• Explain why you have to hold the baby a lot in the beginning. Your child might be confused that he or she cannot be in your arms or on your lap all the time anymore. Remind your child that your arms are still there for him once the baby is asleep. And ofcourse daddy is always there too.
• Your child might want to play with his brother or sister. Tell him or her that a baby only eats, sleeps, poops and cries in the beginning. But you can think of other ideas to interact with the baby. For example sing or dance or show a soft toy to look at.

How did you prepare your child for his or her new sibling?