Psychological changes in

Sibling
Sibling- arrival of newborn
• The arrival of a baby sibling is a normative life event for most children.
• Many clinicians and theoreticians believe the transition is stressful,
constituting a developmental crisis for most children.
• Psychoanalytic theorists such as Freud have emphasized the stressful
nature of this transition for firstborn children, often citing it as one of
the most traumatic experiences of early childhood .
• Parental attention, once the sole province of the firstborn, must now
be shared with a sibling rival. The emotional upset and disruptive
behavior of firstborn children to the arrival of a new sibling is often
viewed as sibling jealousy.
Sibling Rivalry
• Sibling rivalry is the jealousy, competition and fighting between brothers and
sisters.
• Problems often start right after the birth of the second child and usually
continues throughout childhood and may last until in their teens.
• Many children experience feelings of jealousy towards their new brother or
sister, and may convey these feelings through resorting to more ‘babyish’
behaviour, such as having tantrums or refusing to use the potty even though
they have been successfully potty-trained for a while.
• This is all perfectly natural, and is their way of expressing their feelings of
frustration, and confusion about their role and their place in the family.
• It is a concern for almost all parents of two or more kids and can be very
frustrating and stressful to parents.
Sibling Rivalry
Signs of jealousy:
• try to get attention
• want to be held and carried
• get into trouble on purpose
• not do what he/she is asked to do
• act like a baby. He may suck his thumb, wet his pants, want to wear diapers
or want to drink from a bottle.
• try to hit the baby
• become quiet
• not want to have anything to do with the parents
• become upset and afraid
Sibling rivalry
Contributing factors:
• Each child is competing to define who they are as an individual and they want
to show that they are separate from their siblings.
• Children feel they are getting unequal amounts of your attention, discipline,
and responsiveness.
• Children may feel their relationship with their parents is threatened by the
arrival of a new baby.
• Developmental stages will affect how mature they are and how well they can
share parents’ attention and get along with one another.
• Children who are hungry, bored or tired are more likely to become frustrated
and start fights.
• Children may not know positive ways to get attention for a sibling or how to
start playful activities, so they pick fights instead.
Sibling rivalry
• Family dynamics play a role. For example, one child may remind a parent of a
relative who was particularly difficult, and this may subconsciously influence
how the parent treats that child.
• Children often fight more in families where parents think aggression and
fighting between siblings is normal and an acceptable way to resolve conflicts.
• Not having time to share regular, enjoyable family time together (like family
meals) can increase the chances of children engaging in conflict.
• Stress in the parents' lives can decrease the amount of time and attention
parents can give the children and increase sibling rivalry.
• Stress in children’s lives can shorten their fuses, and decrease their ability to
tolerate frustration, leading to more conflict.
• How parents treat their kids and react to conflict can make a big difference in
how well siblings get along.
Sibling rivalry
How to reduce/resolve sibling rivalry:
• First and foremost, don’t play favorites.
• Try not to compare children to one another. For example, don't say things like,
"Your brother gets good grades in math—why can't you?"
• Let each child be who they are. Don’t try to pigeonhole or label them.
• Enjoy each of children’s individual talents and successes.
• Set kids up to cooperate rather than compete. For example, have them race
the clock to pick up toys, instead of racing each other.
• Pay attention to the time of day/patterns in when conflicts usually occur. Are
conflicts more likely right before naps or bedtime or maybe when children are
hungry before meals? Perhaps a change in the routine, an earlier meal or
snack, or a well-planned quiet activity when the kids are at loose ends could
help avert the conflicts.
Sibling rivalry
• Teach the kids positive ways to get attention from each other. Show them how to
approach another child and ask them to play, and to share their belongings and
toys.
• Being fair is very important, but it is not the same as being equal. Older and younger
children may have different privileges due to their age, but if children understand
that this inequality is because one child is older or has more responsibilities, they
will see this as fair.
• In times when they feel as if they’re not getting a fair share of attention, discipline,
or responsiveness from parents, the parents should explain about the decisions and
reassure the kids that they do their best to meet each of their unique needs.
• Plan family activities that are fun for everyone. If your kids have good experiences
together, it acts as a buffer when they come into conflict.
• Make sure each child has enough time and space of their own. Kids need chances
to do their own thing, play with their own friends without their sibling, and to have
their space and property protected.
Reference
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341504/
• https://www.mottchildren.org/posts/your-child/sibling-rivalry
• https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/early-years-development/beha
viour/dealing-with-challenging-behaviour-when-a-new-baby-arrives
• https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/documents/jealousy.pdf
Other family members
Other family members

• Refers to anyone else in the family network who is significant to the mother.
This could for example be the baby’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
siblings. It could also include close friends.
• Partners and other family members may have their own mental health
needs, which can impact on the health and recovery of the mother and
baby, as well as their own wellbeing.
• These needs may change over time and may increase later on, when the
mother’s mental health has improved.
• Services have a key role in identifying and validating partners' and other
family members' distress, and supporting.
Other family members
Their mental health needs:
• Partners of women accessing specialist services
themselves face increased vulnerability to
depression and anxiety.
• Partners and other family members want
professionals to acknowledge how difficult things
are for them, and to check how they are.
• Some grandparents feel that professionals need to
do more to consider their unique role and needs.
Other family members
• There is little evidence on the mental health needs of
other family members.
• There may be positive impacts on partners’ wellbeing
where partner-inclusive interventions are offered i.e.
those that include partners in order to improve
outcomes for mothers.
• There is little evidence about interventions which aim
to improve partners’ wellbeing directly.
Other family members
Symptoms of depression in partners:
• fear, confusion, helplessness and uncertainty about the future
• withdrawal from family life, work and social situations
• indecisiveness
• frustration, irritability, cynicism and anger
• marital conflict
• partner violence
• negative parenting behaviours
• alcohol and drug use
• Insomnia
• physical symptoms like indigestion, changes in appetite and weight,
diarrhoea, constipation, headaches, toothaches and nausea.
Other family members
Actions to consider:
• Make time to acknowledge the partner’s or other family member’s
own wellbeing. This may be within a joint appointment or one-to-one.
• talk about mental health with partners and other family members,
listening for and reflecting the words they choose to describe their
experience (e.g. stress, pressure).
• It may be useful to ask about changes in behaviours as well as
feelings.
• help to reduce stigma by validating, normalising and making sense of
distress at this time.
Other family members
• Give information on self-care and the value of self-care. For example,
information about how difficult this experience can be for family
members, information about prevalence of health disorders in partners,
how to recognise their own needs, ideas and tips on self-care.
• engage them by framing these conversations as a way to ensure that the
needs of the whole family can be supported.
• Acknowledge that they may be focused on the needs of the mother and
not on their own mental health, they need to know why looking after
themselves is so important in enabling them to look after the mother and
baby.
Reference
• https://
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Good-practice-gu
ide-March-2021.pdf

• https://
www.nct.org.uk/life-parent/emotions/postnatal-depression-dads-and
-co-parents-10-things-you-should-know