My hospital has a sibling preparation class for older siblings-to-be to prepare for the new baby to be born. At first I thought that seemed cute and I was going to sign LO up, but now that I'm looking at it, I'm unsure... there's a fee and I'm not sure it would accomplish anything I couldn't just do myself.
Did you do anything special to prepare your older LO for a new sibling?
pear / 1642 posts
We took our oldest to the sibling prep class offered my our delivering hospital. I think we paid $20? But I am so glad we did it. She was 2 months from turning 3, got to do some coloring, learned how to hold baby, got to practice diapering her stuffed toy, watched a silly video and took a tour of the postpartum floor where I would be when she came to meet the baby. She loved it, and we loved being a part of it. She was so proud of her little certificate.
Looking back we absolutely could have taught her the same things as she learned in the class, minus the kid focused hospital tour. But I'm glad we did the class. (This coming from someone who is not a class person and did exactly zero other prep classes for either of my two kids)
nectarine / 2784 posts
@MrsRoo: that's what mine seems to be except for the hospital tour- the class is held at a satellite office building and not the main hospital.
squash / 13208 posts
@Anya: I would pass - at our hospital they suggested they sibling be at least 3 to get anything from the prep
cantaloupe / 6131 posts
I probably would not have because I feel like these are things you can do at home like watch Daniel Tiger or read books or get baby dolls or whatever.
pomelo / 5573 posts
I think it's probably all stuff you could do at home but it might make your kid feel special and excited to go to an official big sibling class.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@Anya: mine was 2 when I had #2... I don't think one day beats us prepping her continuously at home
pear / 1642 posts
@Anya: bummer, the tour was my favorite part! We still did practice what we learned in the class at home and talked constantly about the baby. But as someone else posted above, it was nice to make a big deal about her becoming a big sister. She's a pretty social kid and really thrives on praise and accomplishments, so the class was a no brainer for us- it was right up her alley.
The basics of the class could of course be taught at home, though.
persimmon / 1345 posts
We did a sibling prep class for my 3.5 year old and it was the cutest thing. She learned how to diaper and swaddle baby doll, learned about how to be a "big helper" and we also took a tour which helped her know what to expect when she would come visit. She traced her hand on this poster that we kept on the fridge and when baby was born, compared it to her hand. She received a big sister certificate. They also gave us an icecream coupon for the cafeteria which was a big hit 
But...the class is definitely geared towards older kids. The hospital brochure says age 3 and up. My daughter was 3.5 and has always been on the mature side so she took it seriously and it helped. There was a boy who was probably 2 that came with his parents and he spent the whole time underneath the desk whining and crying. It was a class of 5 kids so it was very noticeable.
nectarine / 2784 posts
@MrsRoo: I don't know if I misread it the first time or if they changed the class, but I just looked at the website and it is held in the maternity wing! And it's listed for all ages. I may be leaning towards doing it now.
pear / 1642 posts
@Anya: awesome! Our hospital said it was for all ages, too. And my daughter was definitely not the youngest in the class we took. The nurse who taught the class tailored it to the age of the kids in our group. The range was from 2-5 in our class.
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