New sibling safety

By Whitney

At my daughter’s day care, a place where 2-4 year olds learn to serve each other water, to give themselves “thinking time” if they can’t control their arms from grabbing or hitting, and take turns playing simple board games, all heck breaks loose when a mother arrives for pick-up carrying an infant in a carseat.

A mad swarm of two-to-three year-olds rushes to the carseat (the four year-olds are too cool for this behavior) and lifts up the blanket to reveal a sleeping or wide-eyed infant. The toddlers then proceed to finger any dangling pacifiers, rub the baby’s head, and point chubby fingers at her eyes. What is a second-time mom to do?

Here are a few guidelines we can provide preschoolers with in relation to the handling of new babies.

Appoint the older sibling as the safekeeper of her newest family member. She can tell her classmates to look without touching the baby
Tell the children what they can touch. Popular choices are the carseat handle and the baby’s feet.
Give the interested children jobs to do – rock the carseat, wash the binky and bring it back to you (without touching the nipple), shake a toy to show the baby how it makes noise.
Allow them to interact as much as your comfort level allows. Place a pillow across a 2 year-old’s lap and she can do a pretty good job of holding an infant.

New Sibling Safety

Of course, the other choice for a protective new mother is to wear the baby on her body when entering a potentially poking and prodding-filled situation. What did you or do you do to protect a second or third child?