Читать книгу Welcoming Your Second Baby - Vicki Lansky - Страница 9

• Ideally, tell a preschooler about two or three months before the birth, but realistically, you’ll be sharing the news once you’ve made it public. You may be pushed into telling an observant child who notices that Mom is getting “fat.”

• Don’t tell any child until you’re ready for the whole world to know. A child can’t be expected to keep such a secret.

• Be careful of telling a child too soon, in the event of a miscarriage. The child might feel responsible in some way for the loss of the baby. If you decide to tell the child right away, be sure to offer full and honest explanations if problems arise later.

• Don’t wait too long to tell any child. He or she may overhear you talking about your pregnancy, or a friend or neighbor may let the word slip. Your child could become unduly worried because you’re always tired or occasionally sick without explanation. The boredom of waiting a long time for the baby to come is not as bad for the child as is the feeling that something strange and secret is going on.

• When explaining to a young child about when the baby is due, tie the birth to an event instead of to a month or week—“after Christmas,” or “during your spring vacation from nursery school”—but don’t pinpoint it too exactly.