Based on a personal experience as a mother, I would like to give you tips on how to deal with siblings' jealousy.
These methods will work with kids from 3 and up.
1- When you learn that you're pregnant and before declaring it ask your child how she would feel about having a brother or a sister at home; someone she could play with and share her adventures with.
If you find that she is excited about the idea ask her to start praying for Jesus to send her a brother or a sister, or maybe she could ask Santa for one.
Let her be involved from the beginning.
That way she will feel that she participated in the creation of that baby.
2- If she wasn't too excited about it, it is your job to start creating, for your daughter or son, a beautiful image of a sibling.
This is not hard; use her favorite character to do so.
Almost all of them have sisters and brothers.
My daughter wanted Jesus to send her twins just like Dora the explorer.
3- How to declare your pregnancy to your baby? Since she has been prepared for the idea it will be easier to announce your pregnancy to her.
Do your best to be with your husband when declaring the news since it is a family matter that involves all of you, tell her that you have a surprise and that her prayers have been answered and a baby will be coming home in few months.
Remember that kids have a hard time understanding the real value of time, so she might not be able to understand how long these nine months will be and she might expect the baby to pop out from your belly anytime during the conversation that is why you have to be more specific about when the baby will arrive.
I am totally against waiting till the 7th month or more to explain to the child what is really happening.
Some people wait till few days before the delivery to tell the child: hey your mother is having a baby! Come on! This will put your kid under a serious shock.
Always remember that your child is intelligent and he could tell that something new and strange is happening.
And the sooner you prepare him the more success you will get.
Please wait for my next article about how to prepare your child for the arrival of the new baby.