Mother-father-son relationships get more complex with a new member in the family. A second child demands new roles to be assumed. The until then King of Home might feel dethroned. Jealousy is a normal reaction. The remedy? Understanding and patience. (full text available in Spanish)
Alba lies in a hospital cot the day after her birth while her parents, Rafa (right) and Pili look at her happily. Alba is their second daughter, after Pablo, who is a two year-old boy.
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Pablo (2 years old) is not very happy with the arrival of his newborn sister, Alba. The first day in hospital he does not even want to look at her, nor to kiss his mother. He does not understand this new situation in which everyone is paying so much attention to the baby, who is laying in bed with HIS mother. Psychologists say that the worst age to have younger sisters or brothers is between 2 and 4 years old because the child is still acquiring some of the basic features of human beings and the new situation might make this more difficult.
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Pablo (2 years old) is not very happy with the arrival of his newborn sister, Alba, shown to him by auntie Juana. He does not understand this new situation in which everyone is paying so much attention to the baby, who only cries, sleeps and takes time from HIS mom. Psychologists say that the worst age to have younger sisters or brothers is between 2 and 4 years old because the kid is yet acquiring some of the basic features of human being and the new situation might make it more difficult ------------------------------------ Pablo (dos años) no está muy feliz con la llegada de su nueva hermana, Alba, a quien su tía Juana intenta acercar. Pablo no entiende esta nueva situación en la que todo el mundo presta tanta atención a la recién llegada, que sólo llora, duerme y le quita tiempo a SU mamá. Los psicólogos coinciden en que las peores edades para tener hermanos/as pequeños/as están entre los dos y los cuatro años, porque en ese período está adquiriendo algunas de las caracterísitcas básicas del ser humano (control de esfínteres, dimensión afectiva, etc) y la nueva situación puede dificultar el proceso
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Pili kisses her first son, Pablo (2 years old) in her third day in hospital after delivering a baby girl, Alba. Pablo does not understand very much the new situation in which everyone pays attention to the newborn. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and beloved ------------------------------------ Pili besa a su primer hijo, Pablo (dos años) en el que es ya su tercer día en el hospital después de haber dado a luz a su segunda hija, Alba. Pablo no entiende la nueva situación, en la que todo el mundo está tan pendiente de la recién llegada. Los psicólogos coinciden en que el hijo mayor debe seguir sintiendo que él también es importante y querido
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Pablo (2 years old), as he touches his newborn sister, Alba, for the first time in three days. He is not very happy with the arrival of the girl because he does not understand this new situation in which everyone is paying so much attention to the baby, who only cries, sleeps and takes time from HIS mom. Psychologists say that the worst age to have younger sisters or brothers is between 2 and 4 years old because the kid is yet acquiring some of the basic features of human beings and the new situation might make it more difficult.
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Pablo (2 years old), plays with his mother for first time since his sister was born five days ago. He is not very happy with the arrival of the girl, because he does not understand this new situation in which everyone is paying so much attention to the baby - who only cries, sleeps and takes time away from HIS mom. Psychologists say that the worst age to have younger sisters or brothers is between 2 and 4 years old because the child is still acquiring some of the basic features of human beings and the new situation might make this process more difficult.
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Pili breast-feeds her newborn daughter Alba while her older son, Pablo (2 years old), tries to touch the baby, who is getting the attention of his mom. It is one of their first days at home after the baby was born. Pablo does not understand very much the new situation in which everyone pays attention to the newborn. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and that parents have to let them know that he once was a baby too and got all the attention and special care that the newborn is getting at the moment.
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Pili holds her newborn daughter, Alba, while she tells off her older son, Pablo (2 years old), for having done something wrong. It is one of their first days at home together after having delivered. Pablo does not understand very much the new situation in which everyone pays attention to the newborn, so sometimes he tries to attract attention to him by behaving badly.
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Pablo (2 years old) tries to open a sweater given as a present to his newborn sister Alba. The boy says that all the presents are his (even though he got a new sweater too and it is on the floor). Pablo does not understand the new situation very well, in which everyone pays attention to the newborn. Psychologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important.
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After a big fit of temper, Pablo (2 years old) goes to his bedroom and continues to cry with a felt of his newborn sister in his hands. Pilar, his mother, scolds him for his bad behaviour. It's been one of Pablo's first days at home with his newborn sister Alba. The boy does not understand very much the new situation in which everyone pays attention to the newborn. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important. However, when there's jealousy towards the baby the older sister/brother might start having bad behaviors to get more attention, or wanting to behave like when he/she was a baby.
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After a big fit of temper because of the food for lunch, Pablo (2 years old) goesto his parents' bedroom, gets a doll of his newborn sister and falls asleep in the middle of the bed. It's been one of Pablo's first days at home with his sister Alba. The boy does not understand very much the new situation in which everyone pays attention to the newborn. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important. However, when there's jealousy towards the baby the older sister/brother might start having bad behaviors to get more attention, or wanting to behave like when he/she was a baby ------------------------------------ Después de una buena rabieta a causa de la comida, Pablo (años) ha cogido un peluche de su hermana recién nacida y se ha quedado dormido en la cama de sus padres. Es uno de sus primeros días en casa después de la llegada de Alba a la familia. Pablo no entiende la nueva situación, en la que todo el mundo está tan pendiente de la recién llegada. Los psicólogos coinciden en que el hijo mayor debe seguir sintiendo que él también es importante. De todos modos, cuando hay celos hacia el recién nacido, el/la hermano/a mayor puede tener un comportamiento más conflictivo para llamar la atención e, inlcuso, querer hacer cosas que hacía cuando era más pequeño
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Pili tries to make her son Pablo (2 years old) eat. It's been one of Pablo's first days at home with his new baby sister, Alba, who quietly sleeps near them. Pablo does not understand the new situation very well, in which everyone pays attention to the newborn. Psychologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important.
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Pablo (2 years old) eats yoghurt by himself while he stares curiously at his newborn sister, Alba, who is crying. It has been one of Pablo's first days at home with his new baby sister. Pablo does not understand the new situation very well, in which everyone pays attention to the newborn child. Psychologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and that he was once a baby too, with the special cares this condition requires.
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Alba (3 months) is crazy about her brother Pablo (2). Despite sometimes he tries to bother her, the baby admires the boy as if he was a God and she never complains. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and beloved, and that he needs time to cope with the new situation, the same as the parents. Three months after Alba was born, things seem to become easier. At the beginning, Pablo did not understand very much the new situation in which everyone paid so much attention to the newborn, but now he is dealing well with it.
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Rafa carries his first son, Pablo (2 years old), on his shoulders. Almost one month after Rafa's wife delivered a baby girl, all the family is on holiday. Pablo did not understand the new situation very well at first, in which everyone paid so much attention to the newborn, but now he is dealing better with it. Psychologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and loved.
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One month after Alba was born, things seem to become easier. At the beginning, Pablo did not understand very much the new situation in which everyone paid so much attention to the newborn, but now he is dealing well with it. He loves his sister and cares about her, even though sometimes he continues on behaving badly to get the attention of the adults. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and beloved, and that he needs time to cope with the new situation, the same as the parents ------------------------------------ Un mes después del nacimiento de Alba, todo empieza a ser más fácil. Al principio, Pablo no entendía la nueva situación, en la que todo el mundo estaba tan pendiente de la recién llegada, pero cada día lo lleva mejor. El niño quiere a su hermana y se preocupa por ella, aunque a veces todavía se porta mal para llamar la atención de los mayores. Los psicólogos coinciden en que el hijo mayor debe seguir sintiendo que él también es importante y querido, y que necesita tiempo para adaptarse a la nueva situación, igual que lo necesitan los padres
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After having got what he wanted (to sit in his newborn sister's pram), Pablo (2 years old) is very angry because his father needs him to be out of there to transport the pram downstairs. Almost one month after Alba's birth, the whole family is on holiday. Pablo is now in a different stage of his jealousy: he says the baby is his.
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Pili gives dinner to her 2-year-old son Pablo under the gaze of her grandmother, while her own mother holds her one-month old girl, Alba. Almost one month after Alba's birth, the whole family is on holiday. Pablo is now dealing better with his initial jealousy. Though he's in a stage where he says that Alba is his, sometimes he forgets about it and allows people to pay attention to her sister with no fits of temper.
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Rafa helps his 2 years old son, Pablo, eat an ice cream, while his wife, Pili, breast-feeds their one-month-old Alba. Almost one month after the girl was born, the whole family is on holiday. Now, the housework and the tasks of looking after their two children need to be split between the two adults.
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Pili tries to stop her son Pablo (2 years old) from hitting his one-month old sister, Alba. Pablo was not very happy with the arrival of his sister, and ignored her for some time. Now his way of approaching to her is by either protecting or hitting her. Doing so, he tries to get attention. Psychologists say that the worst age to have younger sisters or brothers is between 2 and 4 years old because the kid is still acquiring some of the basic features of human beings and the new situation might make it more difficult.
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Rafa holds his 2 years old son, Pablo, while the boy shouts and cries because he does not want to eat but to play in the street of the small town they are visiting. Almost one month after the Pablo's baby sister was born, all the family is on holidays ------------------------------------ Rafa coge a su hijo de dos años, Pablo, que llora y grita porque no quiere comer, sino jugar en la plaza del pueblo que están visitando. Casi un mes después de que la nueva hermana de Pablo naciera, toda la familia está de vacaciones
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Pablo (2) loves his sister Alba (3 months) and cares about her, even though sometimes he continues on behaving badly to get the attention of the adults. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and beloved, and that he needs time to cope with the new situation, the same as the parents. Three months after Alba was born, things seem to become easier. At the beginning, Pablo did not understand very much the new situation in which everyone paid so much attention to the newborn, but now he is dealing well with it.
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Pablo is sick. One month after Alba was born, things seem to become easier. At the beginning, Pablo did not understand at all the new situation in which everyone paid so much attention to the newborn, but now he is dealing well with it. He loves his sister and cares about her, even though sometimes he continues on behaving badly to get the attention of the adults. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and beloved, and that he needs time to cope with the new situation, the same as the parents.
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Pablo (2) loves his sister Alba (3 months) and cares about her, even though sometimes he continues on behaving badly to get the attention of the adults. Psichologists agree that the first son needs to feel he's still important and beloved, and that he needs time to cope with the new situation, the same as the parents. Three months after Alba was born, things seem to become easier. At the beginning, Pablo did not understand very much the new situation in which everyone paid so much attention to the newborn, but now he is dealing well with it.
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Rafa, Pili, Pablo and Alba (in the pram) during a family Sunday walk by the beach. It's now been a month since Pili delivered a baby girl, things seem to be settling down. At first, Pablo did not understand the new situation very well but now he is dealing well with it. Psychologists agree that the first child needs to feel he's still important and beloved.
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