How to Prevent Middle Child Syndrome in your Child
You may not know it and you may not intend to but you may be spending a lot of care and attention to your youngest child. This makes your middle child feel ignored and neglected and middle child syndrome can develop in them.
Family planning advocates recommend waiting for the youngest to at least be 3 years old before having a new baby. When the middle child is still very young, they are still attached to their mothers. They always want their mothers to carry them. When they are a year old and they had a new sibling, they will crave for the attention of the mother that the mother can’t give them because of the new baby.
Your eldest know their role and that is to take care of their younger siblings and to responsible for them. As an older child, you can also give responsibility to your middle child. Tell them that they will help in taking care of the baby. Let them do things simple things like asking them to hold the baby’s mild bottles. Little children feel good about themselves if they are given responsibilities.
Always appreciate the little good things that your middle child is doing for their little sibling. Constantly tell them that they should defend and take care of their little sibling.
You should always talk with your middle child and spend time with them. Take time to accommodate their requests and needs. Go out with them and do things together.
Middle child syndrome can be prevented if parents treat the middle child with as much care, attention and appreciation as the youngest and the eldest.