Sibling classes are offered at hospitals around the country. Your hospital may offer a class to help prepare older brothers and sisters for the arrival of their new siblings. You may be wondering if you should sign your child up for one of these classes.
I took my oldest child to a sibling class when I was pregnant with my second daughter. Since she was only 21 months old at the time, I don’t know how much she got out of the experience. She did have a lot of fun at the time, so I guess it was worth it.
When I was pregnant with my third child, my older two were four and two years old. Again, we took them to the class. My oldest seemed very interested and participated in the activities. The younger one seemed to have a good time playing with the baby dolls and looking at the babies in the nursery. The discussion and video were a bit over her head.
When I was pregnant with my fourth child, we were at a different hospital. This one had an age limit on the class. The children had to be at least four years old to attend. Since she was still three, she wasn’t eligible for the class. I did not sign her up. Instead, we did a lot of talking and reading stories about new babies to try to prepare her for the arrival.
In the end, all three of the children adjusted very well to the births. None of them really showed any signs of jealousy and each loved the new baby. I don’t know that the class made the transition any easier for the children who attended class. They did enjoy touring the hospital and seeing where mommy would be staying. They were thrilled at the chance to get a peek at the babies in the nursery.
The sibling classes I attended were very similar. A video was shown of a baby being born and being cared for by the family. The nurse who taught each of the classes gave a short talk about new babies. The talk focused on how to hold a baby and how much care a baby requires. This is supposed to help the child understand the additional attention given to the new baby.
The classes all had a tour of the maternity ward of the hospital. The children got to see a birthing room and a room like the one I would be in after the baby arrived. I think my kids did benefit from this part of the class. Being in the hospital prior to the birth helped them feel more comfortable when they came to visit me and the baby later.
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