Thanksgiving is more than eating a big meal, watching football, and gathering with others. Amidst the frenzy of this holiday, it is easy to forget what the holiday is about—being thankful. Here are some ways you can teach your child (and yourself) to be thankful.
Being Thankful Is Good for Us
Thankfulness is about acknowledging the goodness in your life. Research shows that being thankful or grateful is strongly associated with greater happiness, more positive emotions, better health, less worry, and positive relationships.
One important study took three groups of people and gave them each the instruction to write each day for 10 minutes. Group one was to write about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. Group two was to write about irritations that displeased them, while group three was told to just write something. At the end of 10 weeks, the first group was measurably more optimistic, exercised more, had fewer physician visits, and felt better overall.
Research on children and thankfulness has similar outcomes. Being a thankful child improves a child’s physical and mental health and gives them a healthier outlook on life. Kids raised to be thankful at Thanksgiving, can learn to be thankful every day of the year.
Ways to Teach Kids to Be Thankful
Teach your child to say “Thank you.” Many kids need increased awareness about when others do something for them. For example, “Wasn’t it nice that Grandma sent you a gift?” or “I noticed that your sister let you go first” and “Did you hear your teacher give you a compliment?” Then your child may need to be prompted to say thank you for all the many things that come their way.
Write thank you notes often.
Have family thankful projects. One idea is to have a thankful jar where everyone can put in a thankful note throughout the week. At family time, notes can be pulled out and shared.
Develop thankful rituals. At dinner, your family can take turns saying what they are thankful for that day. Thankful rituals can also occur at bedtime, on the drive to school, on Saturday morning or whatever fits for your family.
Your family can perform acts of kindness. Some families volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank. Others will mow a neighbor’s lawn, make cookies for friends, or call grandparents. Then it is important to notice how it feels to be told “Thank You!”
Model being a thankful person yourself.
Look for the silver lining. For example, when a soccer game is cancelled, one can be thankful to not stand in the rain, or if one fails a test, at least they had the chance to learn from the test and try again.
This Thanksgiving, take the opportunity to teach your child to be thankful not just on this holiday but throughout the year. We know that being a thankful child and adult leads to better physical and emotional states. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I am a child psychologist who specializes in children's anxiety. I just published a top seller children's book titled Shrinking the Worry Monster, A Kid's Guide for Saying Goodbye to Worries. I love sharing ideas about decreasing worry in children, especially now. I also love to hike and bike in beautiful Pacific NW.
Before children, I thought the hard stuff was going to be the chores—the sheer abundance of them, getting them to sleep, feeding them, having to change so many diapers. And then doing it all over again, all on relatively no sleep.
So when I was able to manage that, I was kind of like, “Okay, I got this! I’m utterly exhausted, but I’ll sleep when they’re 3.” Then, as my kids got older, I figured as long as I didn’t feed them chicken nuggets or give them Hawaiian Punch at every meal I’d be on the right track.
And so, I just assumed that the other stuff, like making them happy, polite emotionally stable human beings would just fall into place. I figured, I’m a good person with manners and I am generally emotionally stable, so that should translate into being a great parent with great kids. I’d be a great role model for them. The “chill mom.” How could anything go wrong? Bingo, automatic pilot.
So when I struggled to get shoes on and leave the house on time or my child literally freaked out because someone had made a mark on her drawing or melted down because I was neither close enough nor far away enough from the jungle gym as I spotted her, I had to really stop and think.
If I could have talked to the parenting gods, I would literally have looked up to the heavens and said, “What the hell is this? Are you kidding me?? I am doing this all the right way! I’m easy going, I’m not helicopter parenting, I’ve got the right amount of schedule,with the right amount of go with the flow thing going on here! They are not supposed to be acting like this—I repeat—not supposed to be acting like this!”
I’d sort of imagined I would instinctively know how to handle these situations. I’d know what to do when they were hurt, know what to do when they were upset or seemingly irrational – know exactly how to get them to get over things, move on, cooperate.
Essentially, how to get them to “feel” better.
That was it. I couldn’t change the way they felt. If they were angry, I couldn’t always get them to calm down. If they were upset and crying, I couldn’t automatically make them happy again. What kind of horrible mother was I? I thought I’d have this magic touch. Wasn’t it that simple?
So I thought about this, maybe it wouldn’t happen again. It was just the lack of an afternoon nap, or they must be hungry, but of course it would happen again, and again and the cycle would repeat itself. My child would get upset, about something or other. And it seemed like no matter what I did, they became more upset and sometimes, eventually angry.
I would twist myself into a pretzel cajoling, distracting, sweetly explaining things, and after an insane amount of patience on my part, or so I thought, I would become upset and even angry. So now, I was angry at my kid for essentially being upset about something. And somewhere down the line I would become upset at myself for not handling it correctly.
It was then I realized I needed to search beyond my magical intuition for some guidance.
And this was the most surprising thing to me about parenting, I couldn’t make them feel better. They’d misbehave because they were upset and I was at a loss about handling it. The subtle nuances of discipline weren’t clear and straightforward. I thought they would be.
How exactly do I deal with these meltdowns and the power struggles? Time-outs didn’t feel right. I mean, isolating them on a stool so that they could reflect on their bad behavior. Yeah, I’m thinking that’s not going to work. And, it feels mean. But then, I can’t let them just do whatever they want. I really felt like the outside world was judging me on the success of every public parent conflict. Secretly thinking to themselves, is she really going to let them get away with that?
What kind of disciplinarian was I? What did that mean to me, discipline? I certainly am not going to hit, I don’t want to yell all the time—only some of the time, okay—but not all the time.
But, I have to be the parent. They are supposed to do what I tell them, am I right? I need to have control. At least that’s what the lady at Petco told me as my child screamed inconsolably in the stroller. Yes, she did, she told me that. My response was not my best parenting moment.
My younger sister who had kids well before me would say when I tried to calmly explain to my nephew that he couldn’t swing from the dining room chandelier because he might get hurt, that you can’t reason with a two-year-old. And that’s true. But that still doesn’t explain how I should deal with this stuff.
Here’s what I’ve learned. We’re not talking about reasoning and we’re not commanding them listen to us. We’re also not asking them to jump ahead to where we want them to be emotionally by saying, “come on sweetie, come here, to this enlightened place where I am. I know best”. No, that doesn’t work.
You essentially have to start by meeting them where they are first. That crazy upset place they are sitting in. You go in to where they are and you stay there until they can move on with you. And this is what Parenting is really, over and over again, meet them there. And then of course a hell of a lot of acceptance of that. Because you will continually want to go back to either just fixing the damned situation or making them deal with it.
And so, how do you get there?
1. See your child where they are, not where you want them to be or hope that by coaxing, prodding, bribing, yelling or threatening they will be.
Don’t rush in to fix things. That’s the first instinct for many of us. Resist the urge! Fixing things is not actually what they want or need in that moment. They really just want you to hear them. What we may see as a task to be solved (because Moms and Dads are great at solving things—we’re so smart) is really an expression that they want you to KNOW how they feel.
When you start by trying to understand and acknowledging their feelings, that is so deeply moving to someone and so reassuring, you soften, they soften and then they can move beyond those overwhelming feelings. It is only then that they will hear you. So firstlisten to them, and let them know you are listening, by acknowledging what they are saying and expressing it.
2. Give them some information to help guide them and/or offer them a choice to help them shift. We are helping them help themselves. Coaching them through these feelings, rather than denying the feelings or telling them their feelings aren’t that bad and they need to stop it right now! It goes something like this: “You’re really upset that we chose this book to read tonight. Your sister picked this and you wanted the other one. Yeah, that’s hard having to listen to a book you don’t really like.” Wait for a response, see what you get. Go back to letting them have their feeling if they aren’t ready to move on.
Then follow up with, “Do you want to read this book together tonight and we’ll read yours tomorrow night, or do you want to read your own book to yourself tonight?” (choice) and maybe add, “In this family we take turns deciding on the books we read.” (information) And if this goes on and on. And it may, you continue to acknowledge their feelings. Repeat the choice, and then at some point and you decide the next step.
3. Set your boundary. Set a limit, decide what that limit is, and stick to it.
“I see you’re still upset about reading your sister’s book, and you’re having a hard time deciding what to do. Sweetie, tonight we’re going to read your sisters choice and tomorrow we’ll read yours. You can listen or read in your bed. I’m going to start reading now because it’s getting late.”
Does that mean you avoid the melt down? Probably not, you may very well still get the meltdown and that’s ok. Your child is still angry and upset at the situation, but at least they’re not stuck in the “You don’t understand anything” place. They are going to know if not in that exact moment, then eventually, that when they get upset, you will listen, you do care, even if it that doesn’t mean they get what they want or that you agree with their point of view.
As you continually do this over time, they will learn that they are going to be upset and then they will eventually feel better. You can’t command someone to ‘get over it’. You may think you have changed their feeling, but their feeling is still there. You’ve just forced them to stuff it so it doesn’t continue to annoy you. You’ve just trained them to respond differently. As in, don’t show that feeling because it will go unheard, rejected and you might possibly be shamed.
“Training” a child is not our goal. “Teaching” a child should be. Letting them know they can feel something, feel a certain way and give voice to that is huge. They may not get what they want but they’ll learn that they can have the bad feeling and then be ok. Again, huge!
Little by little they will express their distress and shift more quickly, because they know it’s not the end of the world. We aren’t stalling them in their “this is the end of the world moment” and leaving them there mad and resentful. I’m pretty sure we’ve all seen our kids in those moments. We’re not shoving them by force into our “correct” version reality. We are letting them find it, by coaching them through it.
It’s not magic, or perfect but it works and it models for them the respectful adult we want them to become. When you see your child meeting some other child where they are and showing empathy. Well, to me, honestly that’s the meaning of life right there.
So we stop jumping to solutions. Stop trying to fix, and trying to make them feel better. We can’t make them feel better. Only they can. We can help.
Think about it. When someone tells you things aren’t that bad, or that you’re overreacting, or that you should count your blessings, or be more like so and so, or that you should understand that life is unfair, I’m pretty sure that doesn’t make you automatically feel better. You may quit your bitching, but now your still pissed at the situation and you’re also pretty pissed with your friend.
This whole idea that standing your ground and insisting on adherence to what you say is discipline is baloney. They didn’t learn anything except that their feelings don’t really matter or aren’t valid enough to warrant the time of day. The word “discipline” derives from Latin, meaning “instruction given” or “teaching.” So let’s do that.
Yes, they’ll get there, let them know they are allowed to feel what they feel, instead of making them feel worse and inadequate for having those feelings. Even if forcing them to move on seems quicker and more efficient in the moment, it won’t help them want to behave, cooperate or move on, next time.
So, stop and see your kid in front of you. Let them know you see them and how they are feeling. Give them information to help them or give them a choice to make it easier for them to take the next step. And eventually, set your limit.
I don’t want to give the impression that with a few magic steps and some patience these situations evaporate, never to be seen again. These are foundational building blocks. Basics, but they a long way in helping get your child’s willing cooperation, in not escalating things into a power struggle every time your kid doesn’t eat their peas, and most importantly it models the respect you want your child to emulate.
Maybe even most importantly, you are wiring them to be able to figure these things out as they become teens and eventually adults.
It’s not rocket science. It’s brilliantly simple and deceivingly difficult at the same time because it isn’t just shaping our kids, it is shaping ourselves as well. It’s conscious parenting, It’s the power of creating this connection and building a lifetime bond with your child.
I am learning to really listen, and I am learning what they need in the process and I try to give them as much of that as I can.
I am a NYC Mom and Parent Coach and through Parenting Workshops and one on one sessions, I help parents move from managing their kids in order to get "good" behavior to raising their kids in such a way that promotes intrinsic motivation to do the right thing!
There are two things we know kids love—a good laugh and YouTube. We did a bit of research (for ourselves as much as you!) in order to find channels that provide kid-friendly content with tons of chuckles, and we’re pretty sure we hit the jackpot. From a family big on an adventure to a cooking show with laughs mixed in, here are our suggestions for the best funny YouTube channels for kids.
iStock
Kids Fun TV Recreate movies? Check! Solve mysteries? Check! Family competition? Check! This family is sure to make you laugh through all of their antics. This crew is known as the fun squad, and it’s easy to see why. They are big on an adventure with no shortage of funny skits and jokes!. On top of everything else, they sing, so be on the lookout for a music video here and there!
Kids React Do you know the tv show “kids say the darnedest things?” That might be one of the best ways to describe this channel. This is a weekly show where kids ages 5-14 watch and give their honest, off-the-cuff reaction to viral videos, jokes and more. It's no secret that kids are known for having no filter, and the results here are hilarious!
Nerdy Nummies Rosanna Pansino is the delightful star of the Nerdy Nummies channel, a cooking show where she makes delicious desserts. Many of her goodies are based on cartoon characters or toys, so it's no surprise that kids LOVE her! She makes baking masterpieces fun while making it seem totally doable at home. She’s funny, creative and bakes treats that are #goals! What’s not to love?
Eli’s Fun World Nine-year-old Eli and his mom team up to share his Fun World, and they are always game for a good time. Follow along as Eli takes his first ride on a dirt bike, “moves out” of the house or the one where he transforms into Bruno Mars—vocals included. They also love a good challenge like the last one out of the hot tub gets $1000! Yes, $1000.
Cali’s Playhouse Let the funny shenanigans begin! Seven-year-old Cali and her little sister are adorable, unpredictable and funny. They have all kinds of adventures and pranks, like the one when Cali showed her Dad her newly pierced belly button! They also don’t shy away from challenges; you have to see the one that every kid would like to try—Cali switching places with her mom for 24 hours!
HiHo Kids This channel is full of amusing videos of kids meeting people with unique backgrounds, playing games and trying unusual foods. As you can imagine, kids unscripted equals funny! It’s great to see kids flex their curiosity and learn about differences in a lighthearted and funny way.
Ryan’s World Ryan's World is a hugely popular and funny YouTube channel for small kids. It features Ryan Kaji with his parents and twin sisters. Their channel is full of skits, challenges and crafts. Ryan has become a huge star on and off YouTube, so your kids probably know exactly who he is. He even has his own line of toys and shoes!
Waffles and Pancake aren’t your average kitty siblings. Even a trip to the science museum is an out-of-this-world, cat-tastic adventure. In Waffles and Pancake: Planetary-YUM, two cool cats learn all about space as they navigate an unexpected journey within the museum…
Waffles and Pancake: Planetary-YUM is the first book in a new early graphic novel series from Drew Brockington, the creator of CatStronauts. He takes readers back in time to when Waffles (everyone’s favorite CatStronaut!) was just a kitten. One special Saturday, Dad-Cat takes Waffles and his sister Pancake to the science museum where they see extraordinary things like 4D hairballs (cough, cough!) and the awe-inspiring planetarium. But while they’re busy learning about constellations and Neil Pawstrong, they get separated from Dad-Cat. How will they find their way through the big museum and back to their dad?
Young readers (ages 6-9) will enjoy following along on Waffles and Pancake’s adventures in this early graphic novel series, packed with educational facts about space. Purr-fect for new readers, books are short, engaging, and promote independent reading with an approachable comic-style format. Plus, this series brings a great balance of silliness and scientific information.
Fans of beloved duos like Narwhal and Jelly and Elephant & Piggie will soon be hooked on this fun, feline pair.
We all want happy, healthy, confident kids and study after study suggests that fostering kindness in your kiddos can help boost their oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine, all key biological players in happiness, wellness, and self-esteem. We know that kindness can be taught and empathy increased through modeling these behaviors for our kids. I’ve learned that letting my kids see me be an active community helper increases their desire to also pitch in and help others, but I wanted to grow my children’s understanding of people’s needs beyond random acts of kindness. Here are three more ways I’ve adopted to increase my kiddos’ kindness factor.
1. We Ditched the Word Nice
Meghan Yudes Meyers
When my kids were itty bitty, I used to talk about being “nice” 24/7. Raising sensitive, caring human beings was of the utmost importance to me. But I realized early on I was using the wrong words.
“Ouch. Biting hurts. Biting is not nice.”
“It’s not nice to take toys. Your sister was still playing with that!”
“Be NICE to your brother. Hitting is not nice.”
Those statements are all true. Biting and hitting are not pleasant. And neither is someone snatching your favorite stuffie. But “nice” isn’t what I meant. KIND is. I had an a-ha moment when my kids were about four. I was sharing a story with my twins' then-teacher about one of my kiddos going above and beyond and really being well, nice, when she addressed this particular child and said, “Wow, that was SO kind of you.”
I was instantly struck that she did not use my words. And I thought, wow, she’s right. I mean KIND. I ditched the word nice as my go-to descriptor from that day forward. Of course, my kids probably didn’t recognize these nuances when I first made the shift. But at seven, they can now tell the difference. For instance, my son came home the other day upset and complaining that his very favorite classmate wasn’t nice to him that day. I immediately empathized with him and asked him what went wrong, He wailed, “She had to pick a partner. And she didn’t pick me!”
To add salt to the wound, his twin sister was picked.
As the story unfolded, I learned that this little girl had to choose her partner. Certainly an awkward and daunting task for a first grader! She had apparently made her choice by the child-equivalent to a coin toss, but my son wasn’t happy with the results. He whined, “It just wasn’t nice! She’s not nice!”
I explained to him that not getting picked isn’t nice (or pleasant) at all! I also explained to him that having to choose a partner, knowing others might get hurt might not have been a nice process for his little friend, either. But, in the end, this child choose to make it as fair as possible, and that was kind.
Nice is a pretty basic word. Rainbows are nice. Unicorns are nice. Nice describes something that is pleasant. Something that, hopefully, leaves feel good vibes. But kindness is complex. Kindness takes so many shapes and, as the example above demonstrates, kindness doesn’t always look nice. Not only have we scratched nice from our vocabulary (or the most part), but my husband and I try to qualify acts of kindness whenever possible. We articulate exactly how an act is kind so our kids know it when they see it
2. We Are Active Observers
iStock
Studies suggest that merely observing kindness can boost our mood (and increase our empathy) as we take stock of the goodness that surrounds us. We practice being grateful by reviewing our day as a family. Who made our day better by some small act? Who shared with us? Said an uplifting word? Who included us?
We also flex our observation muscle when we watch TV or read a book. I was a bit of a Sesame Street junkie as a child. Bert and Ernie were my favorite duo, so much so that I invented my own imaginary friend, Bernie. While I was learning my ABCs and how to count with the Count, I was also absorbing very important lessons on empathy and kindness with the original emotional IQ educators.
Most shows don’t unpack someone’s feelings quite like Bert & Ernie do (or my personal imaginary helper, Bernie did). Because most media does not guide kids on their quest to be empathetic, I channel Bernie and try to vocalize what we are watching on TV. Thank goodness for on-demand shows with pause capabilities in this day and age! When someone is offering a helping hand or lifting their friend up through words, we hit pause to discuss how those actions might affect the recipient. We also stop shows to discuss overtly mean, rude or unkind behavior.
We do the same thing with the books we read. Recently, we were reading the delightful (and hilarious) new book, I Am Not a Dog Toy by Ethan T. Berlin. The little girl in this book is extremely unkind to her new toy who simply longs to be her new favorite friend. She makes rude comments about the toys appearance, ignores the toy's plea for a playmate and even shoves the toy. This book was a great leaping off point for us, as a family, to discuss how it is important to be kind to ourselves, too. And that tolerating bully-like behavior like the girl in this book exhibits isn't respecting our own boundaries.
3. We Start with Ourselves
iStock
I've read that children who are self-compassionate are more likely to empathize with others. It makes sense; when our kids are able to identify their feelings, work through their emotions and lift themselves up they can lean on some (or all) of those skills when they see a friend in need.
Recently, we've were working through one of life's toughest emotions: Anger. I bought a kid-friendly workbook that had us do silly things like name our anger, draw a picture of what our anger might look like and, most importantly, identify what anger feels like when it starts to bubble up. The book helped take some of the scariness out of anger, after all it is a feeling we all experience from time to time. But both my kids were struggling with how to wrestle with this beast of an emotion when it came flooding into their little bodies. The book helped my kids identify some ways they could self-regulate when they were feeling angry, like take a walk or draw a picture.
After we finished the book, I noticed both of my kids were much more self-aware when it came to their anger. They haven't quite reached a place where taking a walk to calm down is automatic, but they are able to say how they could possibly have reacted differently. But the unexpected reward from this little exercise was their newfound awareness (and empathy) towards others experiencing anger.
Shortly after finishing the book, a classmate of theirs was, according to my kids, very (very!) angry. In the past, I'm confident my kids saw another person AS the angry monster (and not a person simply struggling with an emotion). But being able to simply identify that their classmate was experiencing anger and even taking a stab at what caused this child to become upset in the first place made the situation approachable to both of them. I'm not sure if suggesting to their classmate that they should draw a picture really helped?! But their ability to put themselves in their classmates shoe's is a happy step towards being two kinder kids.
If you’re looking for a thoughtful story about the power of love and what it means to be a family—snag a copy of A Secret Shared, by Newberry Medal-winning author Patricia MacLachlan. Perfect for readers ages 8-12 (or those transitioning to chapter books), this middle-grade book centers around the theme of adoption, specifically how a family navigates living with a secret and bringing the truth to light.
The story centers around twins Nora and Ben, and their little sister Birdy. When their mother takes A DNA test for her work as a newspaper columnist, they learn a shocking secret—Birdy doesn’t share the same ancestry as their parents. The twins begin to wonder what their parents are hiding… and how they’ve gone about their lives never knowing.
This beautifully written book delves into why people keep secrets, who to go to for help and how to move forward with openness and honesty. The parents’ love for each other, as well as their children, paints a heartwarming picture of what makes a family, no matter the circumstances that brought you together.
Last year, ColourPop’s Hocus Pocus Collection was an instant sensation. Now, even more trouble is brewing with the brand new Coven Crew Collection!
The Disney collab comes with everything you need to embrace the spooky season. You can shop everything from shadow palettes and lip products to a spider face stamp.
The collection is made up of:
12-pan Witching Hour Pressed Powder Palette in mattes and metallics
Three new shades of crème to powder Super Shock Shadows in the Trouble Brewing Kit
The queen has another great-grandchild! Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have welcomed their first child together.
The Royal Family announced the arrival of the couple’s daughter on Sept. 18 at 11:42 p.m. in London. Little sister will join her brother, Christopher Woolf, Mozzi’s son from his first marriage.
The couple announced they were expecting in May of this year, after wedding in August 2020. The Royal baby is the second grandchild for Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew, whose other daughter Eugenie welcome a son in February.
No word yet on the newest addition’s name, but we hope to hear it soon!
Michelle Branch shared some exciting news yesterday––she’s expecting! The singer took to Instagram yesterday to share the news that she’s already got some cravings because a baby is on the way.
This will be the second child for Branch and her husband, Patrick Carney. The two share two-year-old son Rhys, along with Branch’s 16 year-old-son, Owen, from her first marriage.
While all baby news is exciting, this is particularly joyous for the couple who announced they experienced a miscarriage in Dec. 2020. New baby Carney is due in early 2022, but Branch hasn’t shared whether a baby brother or sister is joining the fam.
Expecting number two (or three or four…)? It could be a good time to prepare your child to welcome a new member of your family! The transition to the role of big brother or sister can be tough for little ones, with big emotions from jealousy to nervousness to excitement and back again! We’ve rounded up five ways to help make the littlest members of your growing family thrive in their new role, from books to games and more!
1. Read a Story That Speaks Their Language
We love the book Original Cat, Copy Cat for its social and emotional learning with a core theme of relationship skills tailored to new siblings. Bonus: Reading Original Cat, Copy Cat, is an ideal way to spend one-on-one time together while working on crucial life skills that will come in handy with a new sibling on the way and beyond!
Pineapple the cat experiences the challenges of adjusting to an additional member of the family. Pineapple loves being an only cat—and then Kiwi comes along. But despite the chaos and the annoyances, Pineapple soon realizes that a new kitten—a new friend—makes everything twice as fun.
Original Cat, Copy Cat is a celebration of friendship and acceptance! For ages 4-8, this book is an excellent tool to help your child adjust to a new family member that speaks their language, told through fun and relatable characters. Sarah Kurpiel's simple use of expressive language and bold artwork makes for an irresistible picture book that's perfect for storytime sharing, siblings-to-be and animal lovers everywhere—Original Cat, Copy Cat is out August 3
Babies cry—a lot! (And sometimes, for no reason at all.) Can you imagine needing something basic like food, some rest or an extra blanket and the only way you can ask for it is to go “WAAH”?! Why not try it yourselves and see what it’s like! Think of things your baby might want; to sleep, to play, to be held and so on. Pick something off the list and try to get it across to the other person without using words—it’s a fun/informative way to put yourselves in your baby’s (very tiny) shoes. Now your child may be just a little more patient next time they hear their new sibling crying.
The best way to get to know what life with a baby is like? Hang out with one! Plan a date to meet up with a friend/neighbor or family member’s baby for a few hours to help your child get a sense of what life is like beyond the bump! It’s a great way for them to get up close and personal with a bundle of joy to get to experience the snuggles and smiles, as well as the poopy diapers, as they get to know their new baby friend.
Time to get out the baby books (or even just the photos/videos on your smartphone)! What better way to get them psyched for their new baby brother or sister than to relive their newborn days! It’s a great bonding experience, too, looking back on how adorable, sweet and cuddly they were before they learned the word “no!”. Talking about how much they have grown and the differences between now and then as they gaze at images of their younger self will help them connect with their yet-to-be-born best bud, too. It helps kids to understand that the new baby in their family won’t be a crying (but cute) little lump forever, but turn into a big kid that’s fun to play with, just like them!
Because we all want to feel included, right?! Take your child with you to the doctor to hear the baby’s heartbeat. Share ultrasound photos of your baby and try to find all the tiny little parts together. Let them help put together the nursery, choosing colors and decor they think their new brother or sister will love. Once baby is here, get them involved in their care (depending on how old they are). Let them get a diaper or wipes for you, give the baby a favorite toy or even help feed them—it’s bonding time at its best!
