Parenting Pointers: Seven Tips for Parents – Changing A Child’s Room To Make Room For A New Baby

Telling a child that a new baby is joining the family is no small task. Some children are excited and overjoyed, but many are apprehensive and skeptical. This is a particularly big transition for an only child. They have been the sole benefactor of their parent’s love and attention for their entire existence.

A young child might have lots of questions. They might act out. They might regress into behaviors that they have outgrown. All of this is normal. Hopefully, with time, they will adjust to the idea of a new sibling and start to get excited, or at least curious!

For some families, the next hurdle is telling their child that their room situation must change when the baby arrives. They must give their room to the new baby, or they must share a room.  Not surprisingly, these announcements are often not welcome ones.

When your child resists the change, there are many things to try:

-  Get your child involved in the process!  If your child has to move rooms, ask your child what they would like their new room to be like. Perhaps you and your partner can work with your child to make the room really special. Could they help you pick out a paint color?  Is there something that your child loves that you could incorporate somehow? If your son loves cars or your daughter loves fairies, maybe you can find a way to include them.

-  If your child is changing rooms, explain that their current room is more of a nursery, where he/she lived when they came home from the hospital. Just like their new sibling, the nursery is for babies! Show them pictures from when they came home from the hospital, and how much they have grown. Emphasize how little the baby will be, what a big boy or girl they are becoming, and how much you’ll need their help when the baby comes.

-  If your child is going to share a room with the baby, is there something you can do to your child’s section that they will be excited about -- a new bedspread, a new lamp, a new stuffed animal for them to love? 

-  If your child is exhibiting regressive behavior, try to give it as little attention as possible, as early as possible. You don’t want to teach your child that acting out gets attention from you.  Nip this in the bud quickly as you will have much less time after the baby arrives.

-  Is there a special toy or animal that your child enjoyed in their room that they would like to leave for the new baby? Or maybe you could pick out something special to leave for the baby in your child’s “old room.

-  Make time for your child when they want to talk. Just spending time with you is special to them.

-  Read books about welcoming a new sibling into the family.

Perhaps your child will be excited about a new sibling from the very beginning! But even in that case, there will be bumps along the road. Every situation is different, and communication with your child is so important all long -- starting when you tell your child about the baby and long after the baby comes home. Good luck!!!

###

Adrienne Durkin is the author of Sam and Coodles: The Room at the End of the Hall, a Mom’s Choice Award Winner and a Creative Child Magazine’s 2013 Book of the Year.  The idea for the series began when Adrienne and her husband moved their son from the nursery outside their bedroom to a room down the hall when they were expecting their second child. Sam and Coodles: Naming Baby is scheduled for a late 2014 release. To contact Adrienne or read about the series, visit SamandCoodles.com.