The arrival of a new member of the family can generate a lot of excitement in the little ones but also rejection. This is called "dethroned prince syndrome", which occurs when the older sibling, who until now was the only child, feels jealous when he sees that his routines have changed or that the attention is no longer dedicated exclusively to him. Basically, there is the possibility that he/she feels displaced, threatened or disconcerted by the changes that may occur in his/her life. That is why it is important to identify the new attitudes that the child adopts before the arrival of the baby and to act with a certain delicacy and patience in the face of them.
Discover the possible changes in a child's behavior when a new sibling arrives.
That said, let's identify the changes in attitude that little ones tend to have when they find themselves in the situation of having a new partner to share their parents with. Take note!
The appearance of irritability in your character
Traces of emotional irritability may appear when this was not the case before. It is possible that he/she gets angry more easily without any reason for it, that he/she cries often or even isolates him/herself. This is because all the emotional load that accumulates before a situation that he does not manage well, makes him explode in this way, since he does not have the capacity to channel his emotions or the tools to do so.
Annoying the sibling
One of the most common situations that show that he is indeed jealous of the new baby is when he starts to bother him more than usual, with situations such as taking away his pacifier, hitting him, scolding him, blaming him for some mischief he himself has done, etc. In this way, he believes that he will return to his privileged position of being the favorite and that he will receive as much attention as before.
Rejection of a parent
Something very common is that he starts to refuse to be taken care of by one of the parents, and he may also prefer the other one to do it. An example of this is when, for example, the father goes to help him bathe but does not want to because he prefers mom to do it, or vice versa.
Dependence on parents for things for which they used to have some autonomy
Often this jealousy manifests itself in constant calls for attention and one of the most common ways is to stop being autonomous and constantly requiring parental help to do things. For example, they used to know how to put on their socks by themselves but suddenly they ask one of their elders to help them put them on, or at bedtime they prefer to sleep together. This is a way for them to feel as small as their sibling and to require the same attention as they do.
From the specialized psycho-pedagogical office at Logos Nursery School Nursery School in Las Rozas de Madrid we can advise you on how to manage the fact that the child faces the arrival of a new member in the family in a healthy way and change his negative attitude towards the new situation he is facing.
