"Mom, when are you going to do something with me?"
"When you have time, maybe when the baby is sleeping can you help me?"
These are only two of the questions that any new parent hates to hear from their older kids. I'm Sarah, wife to my husband Donny and mom to Gabby (14), Kollin (9) and our new baby Everleigh (8 weeks).
I think any parent can relate to wanting to make sure they're giving your new bundle of joy the love and care they need, while not neglecting the needs of older kids. Our daughter Gabby loves having a new baby in the house but she's at the time in her life where she needs to be close to mom & dad. She's 14, a freshmen in school and active in a handful of sports. Gabby loves to help out with her baby sister when she (Gabby) isn't babysitting, doing homework or doing things with her friends. It's tough because I remember how important being able to talk to my mom was when I started high school and I never really thought she had enough time for me. I don't want my sweet daughter to feel that way about me.
My son Kollin is in 4th grade and just like most his friends, he wants to become a famous video game player or YouTuber! Kollin will try to catch my ear by telling me about a "Boss" or a level he's struggling with on one of his Xbox One games. Sometimes he only wants me to listen, even if I have no idea what he's talking about! (Which is most the time) But Kollin is our handsome little man who loves his sisters, LOOOVVVEEESSS playing video games. He can go upstairs and play online with his school friends and not be seen for hours and be perfectly content!
My husband and I have tried, and tried again to implement some alone time with each of our kids. Sometimes that means my daughter and I will steal away for Starbucks and mani/pedi or even just take her to Smoothie King and talk about life. With Kollin it usually is his dad playing video games with him, or even one of us taking him to a movie. Superhero or cartoon and he's happy as can be! We're always looking at making this work. We certainly didn't plan to have a new baby but now that she's here we see what a blessing she is. We just want to make sure that our kids are as happy as we are.
Fall is here now which means more walks with our older two, more baseball and basketball in the driveway (that can literally last for hours) or even sitting outside with a hot chocolate and truly connecting with Gabby and Kollin about their day, their friends, their problems and really, honestly being there for them.
How have you connected with older kids when a baby finds its way into your life?
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