I Don't Want a Baby, I Want Legos!
Talking to my children about the new baby brought back memories of trying to prepare #1 Son for the arrival of his baby sister 10 or so years ago. #1 was a month shy of 3 when The Little One came along. I anticipated some adjustment issues, so I did what I do best. I researched and read everything I could get my hands on. I found a lot of ideas. Some worked better than others.
THE BOOK - #1 Son LOVED when I read to him. Our nightly ritual consisted of at least one book, most commonly Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham. It was his favorite. I happened to find this fantastic book that was written for children who were about to gain a sibling. It was a great "feel good" book written to enforce the child's special place in the family as the oldest child, etc. The first night The Book debuted at bed time, the kid didn't even make it half-way through. Apparently it was a little dry.
Him: "Mommy, this is boring. Can we read Sam I Am?"
Me: "But Honey, this is a special book. It's all about a boy who gets a baby sister, just like you!"
Him: "It's dumb. I want Sam I Am."
Me: "Can't we at least finish it?"
Him: "The boy gets a dumb baby, the end."
There was no point in continuing since he ruined the ending for me.
THE VIDEO - I cannot even remember the name, but I found a video with a plot similar to The Book. It went over about as well. We didn't even make it 5 minutes into the show when he changed tapes on me. He preferred Barney. Not one to want to pick a fight, I decided to go with the flow. I tried to point out that Baby Bop was Barney's little sister, just like he was going to have a baby sister. When he started asking me if she would be purple or green, I gave up.
BABY SUSAN - One book I read suggested getting a life-like baby so that the child wouldn't feel left out when Mom takes care of the real baby. That made sense to me in a twisted sort of way. It couldn't hurt. Nothing else had worked and I was still worried about his adjustment. Baby Susan started off on a more positive note than The Book and The Video, most probably because we had to go to the toy store to get her. Day 1 with Baby Susan went fairly well. I taught him how to change her diaper and feed her. We even let her test drive the new baby swing. I must admit that I was slightly concerned when he kept cranking the swing up as fast and high as it would go, and certainly it was only flinging Baby Susan around like that because she was so light. By day two, I realized the Baby Susan experiment had probably run its course. By lunch time I found her face down on the floor. #1 Son was using her as a landing pad for the Hot Wheels cars that he was flinging off the coffee table. In a last ditch effort, I suggested he take Baby Susan up to his sister's crib for a nap. The last time I saw Baby Susan he was dragging the doll up the stairs by one foot, clunking her little life-like head on every step, I knew we were done.
I guess I should have listened to him when he told me, "Mommy, I don't want a baby, I want Legos." I'm with you kid.
THE BOOK - #1 Son LOVED when I read to him. Our nightly ritual consisted of at least one book, most commonly Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham. It was his favorite. I happened to find this fantastic book that was written for children who were about to gain a sibling. It was a great "feel good" book written to enforce the child's special place in the family as the oldest child, etc. The first night The Book debuted at bed time, the kid didn't even make it half-way through. Apparently it was a little dry.
Him: "Mommy, this is boring. Can we read Sam I Am?"
Me: "But Honey, this is a special book. It's all about a boy who gets a baby sister, just like you!"
Him: "It's dumb. I want Sam I Am."
Me: "Can't we at least finish it?"
Him: "The boy gets a dumb baby, the end."
There was no point in continuing since he ruined the ending for me.
THE VIDEO - I cannot even remember the name, but I found a video with a plot similar to The Book. It went over about as well. We didn't even make it 5 minutes into the show when he changed tapes on me. He preferred Barney. Not one to want to pick a fight, I decided to go with the flow. I tried to point out that Baby Bop was Barney's little sister, just like he was going to have a baby sister. When he started asking me if she would be purple or green, I gave up.
BABY SUSAN - One book I read suggested getting a life-like baby so that the child wouldn't feel left out when Mom takes care of the real baby. That made sense to me in a twisted sort of way. It couldn't hurt. Nothing else had worked and I was still worried about his adjustment. Baby Susan started off on a more positive note than The Book and The Video, most probably because we had to go to the toy store to get her. Day 1 with Baby Susan went fairly well. I taught him how to change her diaper and feed her. We even let her test drive the new baby swing. I must admit that I was slightly concerned when he kept cranking the swing up as fast and high as it would go, and certainly it was only flinging Baby Susan around like that because she was so light. By day two, I realized the Baby Susan experiment had probably run its course. By lunch time I found her face down on the floor. #1 Son was using her as a landing pad for the Hot Wheels cars that he was flinging off the coffee table. In a last ditch effort, I suggested he take Baby Susan up to his sister's crib for a nap. The last time I saw Baby Susan he was dragging the doll up the stairs by one foot, clunking her little life-like head on every step, I knew we were done.
I guess I should have listened to him when he told me, "Mommy, I don't want a baby, I want Legos." I'm with you kid.
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