Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for October 08, 2012

Good reflexes, parental units!

You can’t be the center of attention forever, Max.

At least Max got some luving.

Next line had better be, "Look! Max is smiling at his sister! Max loves his sister! Luci loves her brother!

It’s not unusual for older siblings to be jealous of the attention that their younger siblings get from the grownups.

My 3 year old grandson tried to play “peek a boo” with his new sister by covering her fwith a pillow and sitting on her! Jealous from the get go! But he says he loves her..Sigh.

The antidote for Max’s jealousy is to get him to understand that he’s now a big brother.

(And then he’ll have somebody to torment and push around!)

Good reaction but there really isn’t much reason to talk to babies as if they are idiots…remember that they are always learning language and how to use it!

@sjsczurek: I was a “big brother” and I always had to “set an example” for my younger sister. With an escape clause like that, she consequently got away with things I never could.

That’s why when I see a mom out shopping with a little kid and a baby, I always say to the older one, Are you the big brother/sister? (In a tone conveying that they totally win if they are.) Cool! It’s fun to watch the pride bursting out of them. Then I might glance at the baby too, but the older one comes first. I know from experience that most strangers will coo over the baby and ignore the little kid, and I figure I can even that out a bit for them.

When I got a present for a new baby, I’d often get a little something for the older one, too, and make over him/her.

my eldest grandchild has a devoted fan in his younger sister…and he is so good with her. When she was a infant she would track him as he moved around. They’re 2 yrs a part. (5 & 3).