When my youngest, Aiden, was born, Asher was about 22 months old. I remember having so many uncertainties about how he would react to a new sibling and how difficult the adjustment phase would be for him. I fully subscribe to the idea that the right preparation can make any situation smoother and less chaotic, so I spent endless time Googling and searching Pinterest for tips: “Baby and a Toddler” “Activities for Toddler with New Baby” “Older Sibling Activities with New Baby Nurses” and on and on…What I couldn’t see then, and didn’t figure out until Aiden was here and I was actually living it, is that the things that helped Asher the most in his “big brother transition” were the type of things he’s loved all along- practical work. These are some of the practical life activities that Asher loved doing as an older sibling that helped to give him comfort and confidence and helped us all survive a bit too-
Bottle and Pump Part Washing
Asher, like many toddlers, loves the sensory experience of water play, so this was a great daily task that he could help with. Due to an oversupply this time around, I needed to pump a couple of times a day from the beginning, and then more bottles got added into the mix as well when I went back to work this fall. I have an empty wash bin that sits on one side of the sink at all times that I put pump and bottle parts into after use. While Aiden was sleeping, or in the early weeks while my husband was still home, one of us would stand on the side of the sink with the wash bin while Asher stood next to us (in his learning tower) on the other side with the faucet. My husband or I would wash all of the soapy parts with the bottle brush. Then, we would pass the soapy parts to Asher and he would rinse them off thoroughly and place them on the bottle drying rack right next to the sink (love this one so much for keeping parts organized). He still enjoys this practical work and it makes the bottle washing go much quicker which is legitimately helpful. In the beginning I would say things like “it’s so helpful that you are washing these parts for Aiden”. It’s hard to find work that toddlers can safely help with for a new baby, so I really think this practical life activity helped to make the transition a little easier for him.
Baby Food Making
Aiden has been diagnosed with a food allergy condition called FPIES, so we have to introduce new foods in a methodical trial-based pattern. This means lots of baby food pureeing! Thankfully, we recently got this immersion blender which has made baby food pureeing much easier this time around and Asher loves to be able to use it. When I’m making baby food for Aiden, he loves to help with practical work like pureeing using the blender (with supervision), chopping fruits or veggies with his chopper or his nylon knife, and spooning puree into ice cube trays. To be honest, it slowed the whole process down a bit in the beginning, but he loves to help and seeing the pride he has as he says “I’m helping make food for Aiden” is well-worth the extra time. A few months into this process, I can truthfully say he is very independent with chopping and his help makes it all go faster! This is some of his favorite practical work as an older sibling.
Putting Laundry Away
Asher is just beginning to learn how to fold some basic things (burp cloths are perfect for beginning folding work), so most of his laundry work involves putting things away. If he sees me folding laundry or sees folded laundry sitting out, he often volunteers to put it away. In the beginning months, I would help with showing him where certain things went in his drawers and how to carry small stacks of laundry at a time. Now, he pretty much knows where it all goes and although I sometimes find toddler and baby socks mixed together, I love that this is practical work that he can do independently.
Cleaning the Floor
If you follow my IG account, then you know how much Asher loves cleaning! Now that we’re in the phase of Aiden always crawling around, we have to be extra careful about food crumbs on the floor for his allergies. If I miss things or haven’t gotten to cleaning the floor yet, Asher notices and will clean up so that Aiden doesn’t get the crumbs. He was wiping things up or just picking up larger crumbs and throwing them away, but we just got him this small vacuum for Christmas so he uses that now. It was all he kept asking Santa for! This has been one of his favorite practical life tasks as a new sibling.
Those are just a few of the practical life activities that Asher did/still does that are related to being a big brother. He has preferred practical work over shelf work for quite awhile now, so I found these activities to be way more helpful than any trays or “quiet activities” that I created for him in the newborn months. Did you have two under two? What were some activities that helped with a toddler and a baby?
This post contains affiliate links at no extra cost to you.
Kristine the Dane says
Thank you so much. Getting a new sibling can be really hard for the other children, no matter how much they love them. It is definitely really important to involve the older siblings in as much as possible.
KMenko says
Thanks for reading the post! You’re right, it is a hard transition. Helping out definitely made it easier for him.
Maria says
Thank you! We’re expecting and this gives me a good idea on how I can involve my daughter in the process. I know she’ll want to “help.” 🙂
KMenko says
Congratulations! I think it definitely makes it easier for them when they feel they are helping out. I hope the transition goes super smoothly for all of you! Thanks for reading!
wanderwahm says
Great job! There are so many things we can incorporate our kids to participate in practical life work around the house. I did that to my little one too. She help me load and unload the laundry in the dryer. She help me with cleaning her toys because I always remind her to pack away her toys after playing with it and before bedtime.
KMenko says
Laundry help and toy cleaning are great ideas too! I think they love to feel like they are contributing and doing the same tasks we do. Thanks for reading!
Shelby says
This is awesome! How did you get him interested? Just by showing him?
KMenko says
Yep, mostly! We’ve always let him participate in a lot of practical activities from a young age, so they’ve been what he is drawn to the most for awhile. I’m not a great cleaner so I know he didn’t get his love for cleaning from me! 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Julia from Balancing Bravely says
Food baby making – I love that!
Jacalyn says
So sweet! Love the idea of littles helping.