Behaviour gone backwards

[Kathrynrt]

Since having dd 9 weeks ago my 3 yr old ds has become the most ill-behaved child I know. I expected some bad behaviour at first but is it normal for him to still be having tantrums and bad behaviour several times a day??? Until dd was born he was generally a very well behaved little boy...any tips for helping him settle back down....

I'd say it's perfectly normal and tbh it's fairly normal for the age even without the addition of little sister.

Don't pay too much attention to the tantrums, try to stay calm.

At other times, try to do things the three of you (e.g. reading a story to him while feeding dd, involving him in dd's care when he wants to, inventing games that the three of you can play- sort of- ).

And try to get somebody else to take dd out for a walk in the pram or whatever from time to time so you can have some 1:1 time with ds.

Also, it's not going to kill dd if she is left to cry for a bit while you sort out ds's needs. In a sense, the needs of a 3yo are more urgent than those of a small baby, as he can reason and feel neglected.

Playschool can be a help at this time, but only if he doesn't feel that he's being ousted so you can have time with dd.

Thanks for that. He already goes to a child minder and loves it. I'll try and give the special time a go, it's a little difficult as my husband works away all week but we'll try our best.

Thanks again

I found this time desperately difficult.
(had children with exactly same age gap)

The one consolation I can give you is, it does get easier. Once dd gets to the sitting up and crawling stage, she will be a lot more entertaining to him, and hopefully he will have got over the shock and found his feet in this new family arrangement.