Tell your child you’re pregnant in a simple but creative way.
Thinking about increasing your family size by welcoming another child? Waoh! That’s awesome! I am so happy for you and your spouse. However, telling your kid he will be having a baby sister or brother can look weird. A lot of Questions will pop up in your mind, like, how do I make Brandy understand he’ll be having a brother or sister? Will he actually understand why? Will he still know that daddy and mummy love him? Wouldn’t he think another baby is coming to take his place? How will he bond with the new baby? And lots more.
There is no need to be worried, all you need to do is to creatively tell your child you are pregnant in a simple way.
1. Creatively let your child know that you are planning to have another baby
When I and my spouse started planning on having our second child, we literally involved our three year old in the discussion like telling, him daddy and mummy will love to give him a sister or brother like some of his friends in school had.
He was so excited to hear this as he has always talked about his friends who had sisters and brothers. He loves to cuddle his teddy bear and calls him baby. As a mother, I tried to explain to him that mummy can give him a real baby that he can play with, share his toys with, go to school with, and that they will have lots of fun together. He was so happy and excited so much that he was already expecting his baby even when I was yet to get pregnant.
2. Show your child some baby stuffs around the house
It wouldn’t be a big deal to tell your child you’re pregnant if you can get the child prepared psychologically and emotionally. Another way I tried to tell my child I am pregnant was to show him some of his baby stuffs that are still in his baby wardrobe. It told him the baby stuffs used to e for him but now that he has outgrown them then they will be used for the his baby. On hearing this, he was excited so much that any time I tried to pick any of the baby stuffs like clothes, he will say, ‘Mom, that’s for my baby, can you please keep it?’ Hearing him say such words made me know that he is actually prepared to have a brother or sister.
3. Let your child know where the baby will come from
During this time, my three year old will sometimes ask me, ‘mom, where is my baby?’ and I will respond by telling him the baby is with God in heaven but will soon be in mummy’s stomach. That sounds weird, isn’t it? This made it easy for him to understand that mummy is carrying a child when I eventually got pregnant. When I got pregnant, I told him his baby is now in my stomach and he needs to be gentle with mummy, so the rough play will be limited, no running into mummy for hugs but gentle hugs. Pretty well, he was able to understand and will usually ask, ‘mom, is your stomach paining you? Is there a baby in your stomach?’ and I will answer with a yes.
4. Let your child bond with the baby-to-be
You don’t need lengthy words to tell your child you are pregnant, when your baby bump start showing, let the child touch the baby bump, speak with the baby and get connected with the baby emotionally. When you start showing could be a time you may want to tell your friends and family that you are pregnant, this is a good time to eventually tell your child that you are pregnant. I will suggest that you share the news first with your child before you share it with your friends and family.
5. Let your child be at one of your hospital visits.
My son was excited the first time he saw his baby on the screen when I went for my 12 weeks scan. He was happy to see the baby and had an increased expectation to have a new baby. He understood that of a truth, there is a baby in mummy’s stomach. My son sometimes advises that I go to the hospital and let the doctor touch my stomach whenever I complain of any discomfort in my lower abdomen.
6. Get your child involved in picking out the baby things like clothes, etc.
Getting my son involved in picking out the baby things and arranging the baby wardrobe is one of the exciting ways I told my child I was pregnant. Knowing that he was going to have a baby sister, he was excited to pick beautiful girls’ clothes, shoes, toys and accessories for his baby-to-be.
More on Preparing Your Family
For more on raising confident, happy kids through family transitions, see 7 Practical Ways to Raise Happy Children. For professional guidance on sibling preparation, see the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guide to preparing your child for a new sibling.
