5 yrs oldnot affectionate with her baby sibling
viduuu posted on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 10:31
My younger daughter is 2 months old. My elder daughter is 5 yrs old but I have observed that she is not very exited about her sister and she is not affectionate towards her. She does not show any annoyance but still I have not seen her being exited about her sister.
She does not take any initiative to be by her side. She does things for her if asked for but never shows any interest. Wondering what could be the reason and how can I help her.
Hey vidu, your daughter is just 5. Give he sometime. You cannot expect a small child to accept someone with whom she has to share her love etc.etc., in such a short duration. Make sure you do not push her. give her time and do keep telling her good things about having a sibling.
I am sure your daughter will be loving her sis more than you, thats the case with my daughter who loves her younger brother more than anyone of us.
All the best.
My son also took sometime to accept his younger sister. I could see his love for sis only after his sis was 6 months old. Now that he has grown up and understand things he can give up anything for his younger sis. I always pray to God that his love between them last their whole life.
This very thought of sibling rivalry have been keeping me away from planning for my second child till now.
We adults also feel jealous when someone gets our share of love and affection. Its not unusual for the elder child to feel insecure on arrival of the new baby. Before the baby the elder one is the only child who get the entire families love affection and attention. And suddenly he/she might not be able to accept the new situation. Its always better to prepare you child for this change when you are expecting your baby.
Same is the story of my kids. My son is the younger one. My daughter did take care of her younger brother but somewhere she used to feel that he got all the love and she used to feel lonely. Slowly as my baby grew up I started to share my time and affection. And my daughter also started understanding things and her love and care for her younger brother has become a strong bond now though they are still both young.
For me the it was the opposite my son wanted a sibling for himself to play with. He wanted someone to play with who was a child and not us. When he saw his friends playing with their siblings he felt lonely. He always said he wanted a sibling to play with. He was the most happy member of our family on the birth of his younger sis.
She does not take any initiative to be by her side. She does things for her if asked for but never shows any interest. Wondering what could be the reason and how can I help her.
viduuu, just now came across a post where a mom was worried about the elder sibling playing with the baby like a toy
So, as far as my view your daughter is not old enough to take initiatives in taking care of the baby. If she does things if asked for thats good enough. As far as affection is concerned it will definitely become more with time. So, don't worry and enjoy life with your kids.