As you welcome a new baby into the family, it brings joy and excitement for parents as well as the sibling. However, providing attention and care for two young children can be tiring, exhausting, and demanding. Since parenting two different children can be completely troublesome for parents, particularly moms, we have listed down here five effective tips on how to balance a newborn and a toddler.
1. Have your toddler attend a preschool program
The arrival of a new sibling at home can also be the right time to have your toddler enrolled in a preschool program. This will allow parents to focus on the new baby and at the same time will keep your toddler participate in school and mingle with other children. Don’t forget to ask about your toddler’s day in school, pick him or her up on time, and do activities together when at home.
Read also: Kids Must-Learn Factors From An Early Age
2. Create a toddler area
It helps to set up a spot where your toddler can play by himself why you care for an infant. Let the husband set it up and include child-sized shelves where your child can pick the toys he wants. You may also want to give him toys that are educational or ones that can make him play independently.
Read also: 7 Smart Tips to Break and Entertain Toddlers
3. Spend one-on-one time with your toddler
Your toddler also needs one-on-one time with you. Caring for a toddler is as demanding as caring for a newborn. So make sure you find time to spend quality moments with your older child. These moments can be simple but what’s important is you spend it fun and your focus should only be on her. The following activities are some ways on how to balance a newborn and a toddler:
- While the baby is asleep, you play a game with your toddler.
- Read him stories after you take care of the infant.
- Ask him to help you do simple house chores.
- Take him with you while you run errands.
Read also: Fun-Filled Activities: Mom and Toddler Activities That You Must Try
4. Match their naps
One of the most effective ways on how to balance a newborn and a toddler is to coordinate naps. By doing this, both your infant and toddler are asleep at the same time which can also give the parents time to sleep and take a rest. The sleeping or napping pattern of your toddler is a bit more different on how your infant sleeps so just work on it and make their naps happen at the same time. This may be challenging at first but will surely pay off when you finally get it done right.
Read also: The Ultimate Sleep Schedule for Babies
5. Opt for a baby wear
There can be a lot of times when you can’t put your infant down as you need to give attention to your toddler. To make these moments more manageable, try babywearing once your newborn is old enough to be worn. You can purchase the most suitable baby wear for you and your baby so you can have him close to you while you attend to your toddler’s needs hands-free at the same time.
Read also: The 4 Amazing Stokke Baby Carrier for Babies
6. Keep your toddler involved
As a mom of two young children, you know how it feels to be overwhelmed and sometimes guilty about not spending as much time with your older child. Another great tip on how to balance a newborn and a toddler is to keep the older child involved in caring for the baby. You can allow your toddler to sit with you while you feed the baby. You can also let him see how you change the nappies of his sibling or even ask him to get diapers or allow him to settle the baby when she cries.
Read also: The Important Tips for Toddler Discipline
7. Do not hesitate to ask for help!
Sometimes you need to face the reality of your situation but admitting that you need help can be quite hard. If a friend or family member offers a hand to watch your toddler. You may also need to have a sitter to care for and watch your little one so you can spend some quality time with your older child. Remember that finding opportunities to have some alone time with your children is important and priceless.
Final thoughts
We know how overwhelming and demanding it is to be a second-time parent. You may think of ways on how to balance a newborn and a toddler. Hopefully, this article can help parents out there who are juggling with two young children. The job may be challenging now but the good thing is you know that the infant and toddler stages fly too fast. Just enjoy and live the moments with them as being in those stages are not forever.
Read also:
- 5 Signs You’re Doing Good as a Mom
- Keep up with your Toddlers with these Family Night Ideas
- Healthy Parenting: Different Types of Parenting Styles to Raise your Child
