(Lets face it kids are full of honesty, they say it as they see it. This is a new column written from the ‘HONEST’ observations from our children. It touches on all aspects of the process of growing up and how we as parents can improve ourselves from a child’s point of view)

My Big Sister

Right fellow baby peeps, I feel the need to share, so listen up good. Not sure if you been inflicted or have to spend endless days and nights in vexation, but I know your torment if you’re unfortunately blessed with an older sibling.

The one who came before can be a right royal pain in the behind. First of all SHE saw Mum and Dad first, I have issues over that. Okay okay so SHE had no say on how the universe decided to play the game of cards.

But a little part of me still has problems that SHE came first and had Mum and Dad to herself for the first three years.

I mean those were the golden years of their being first time parents, everything was an “OOOUU” and “AHHH”. A gazillion pictures of her every move fills copious photo albums of book shelves.

I mean PARENTS, how many pictures of a sleeping baby can you take. SHEEESHHH, and then her every move from sucking her thumb to saying her first word..its “GGAAAAAAAA’ by the way, yeah yeah..somebody forgot to give her brains, has been duly recorded.

For heaven sake, she’s not royal..I really don’t think that someone who tries to lick the rain through the inside of a window, is really going to rule a country or do something equivalent to splitting the atom.

I mean for someone who wears swimming gear (her ducky tube) as normal clothes, c’mon people. Then three years later, I don’t know what my parents were thinking, since being parents to one child is hard enough they decide to have me.

Despite the fact that I put on the best smile, they take minimum five pictures and hey if I decide to stand on my head all the while twirling a baton, Mum goes that’s nice dear and goes back to whatever she was doing.

SEEE…that big sister of mine is vile, she’s robbed me of my parents!!!! I mean her I do get my own back, all of a sudden her Barbies became headless..ooops I didn’t do it on purpose I swear, and then I did scream everytime she came near me even though she was only trying to give me a kiss and Mum thought she had pinched me..HAHAHAH. ..yeah yeah I know its cruel, but I have issues.

Only thing, this getting back at Big Sister is getting a bit old, I mean she really is nice to me, she did share her jelly beans with me, even though Mum said I couldn’t have any since I could choke.

Then of course, we have to deal with those two, the parents, boy are they a lot of work. I mean I’m constantly testing them to see how their coping being parents.

I scream a lot and Big Sister refuses to eat her food and the other day she told me that she’s going to start the tantrums soon.

They sound like so much fun, I might start mine early as well, we’ll do it in unison big sis, oh the fun and games I take it back  I LOVE my big Sister, she’s the bomb!!!!!

What is sibling rivalry?

Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among siblings, whether blood related or not. Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents.

The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality, and people and experiences outside the family.

Sibling rivalry is particularly intense when children are very close in age and of the same gender, or where one child is intellectually gifted.

How to introduce a new baby

 It is completely natural for your child to be jealous of a new baby.  In fact, I doubt there is a child in the world who has not been jealous when a new sibling arrives.

Your goal is to help your child manage that jealousy so love has a chance to grow, and to win out. Anything you can do while you're pregnant to prepare your child will be helpful.

Your goal is to get her excited about the baby, and feeling connected to it, even before it is born.

Babies and choking

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), choking rates are highest for babies under one year old.  The majority of kids’ choking injuries are caused by food.  There are three basic steps in keeping kids safe from choking:

• Keep a watchful eye on children when eating and playing.
• Keep dangerous toys, foods, and household items out of reach.
• Learn how to provide early treatment (first aid/CPR) for children who are choking.

By Mayuri Jayasinghe