Activities for Older Siblings on the Arrival of a New Baby
Prior to having my third baby baby I collected together a number of easy on me (or so I thought) activities to do during the newborn transition time. I gave each of the boys their “Big Brother Activity Bag” the day after my third child was born.
During the time right after having the baby it was great to have things for the kids to do that were easy to get out. It helped with keeping moods more cheerful and acted as a sanity saver to have a variety of ways to entertain the older two without only using screens. Not to say they weren't watching shows too, but nice to have more than that as an option.
Most of the activities were great- actually the one dud is the one I have a picture of below.
This was a kit from Creatology in which you could make a little house. It wasn't a total dud, just more labor intensive for me than I intended. I didn't realize these weren't stickers. They required a glue gun or white glue and lots of patience and painstaking fiddling around- not the best choice for small easily frustrated people. Perhaps the manufacturer actually meant it when labeling the boxes “For Ages 6+.”
If I could go back in time I'd get a way simpler craft kit like one of these that has stickers and doesn't require glue.
What Made for the Best Activities?
- Activities they could manage pretty well on their own – very few fiddly bits.
- Washable activities if it used an art supply.
- Activities that let them connect with me while I was holding the baby, such as reading or the games I mention below.
Older Sibling Activity Ideas
In case you need some ideas here are some activites that DID work well for my boys (ages 3 and 5)
- Large washable stamp pads and some new stamps
- The card game Hiss– not terribly boring for grown ups, and easy for the kids to learn. Soon they can play on their own. That game doesn't seem to be easily available any more, so my other pick would be Goblet Gobblers, which is fun and quick.
- New children's music for them to listen to
- Fun read aloud books from the library (I asked the librarian what she likes to read during story time.)
- Some previously unseen DVDs from the library. (Yes, this was ages ago when we still had a DVD player. The main point is having some “new” shows available for them to watch.)
- New play-dough
Aside from the collection of activities the biggest help was having plenty of snacks around.
You can find my collection of tips for helping toddlers cope with a new baby here.
Alissa Zorn is an author, and founder of the website Overthought This. She's a coach and cartoonist passionate about helping people overcome perfectionism and shame to build authentic, joyful lives. Alissa is certified through the International Coach Federation and got her Trauma-Informed Coaching certification from Moving the Human Spirit. She wrote Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection, Not Perfection, and is always following curiosity to find her next creative endeavor.