A change in family dynamics can be scary. When a new person is added to your family it can cause distress and anxiety. Maybe your parent is getting married and you’re going to have new step-siblings or a foster sibling is staying with your family. It could also be that your parents are having a baby or maybe a cousin is coming to live with you. No matter what the change is, it can be stressful and confusing. Whatever you may be feeling, here are some tips to deal with a new addition to the family.
When getting a new sibling it’s always important to think about their feelings, but it’s just as important to think about your own. The transition period in your family can be extremely stressful so you need to remember to take time for yourself. Doing seemingly mundane things such as taking a walk or reading a book can lower stress significantly. Other things you can practice are breathing exercises or journaling in order to help with stress management. In stressful times like this, these simple methods of destressing can drastically improve the way you feel.
You also want to take your new family members’ views into consideration, especially if they’re an older kid. New additions to family dynamics affect everyone involved, and if you have siblings that are also affected chances are you can lean on each other for support.
In situations like this it’s important to be open with your feelings and talk it out with another person, maybe you can find common ground with how you feel. Another person you can talk to is a friend, speaking about it with somebody you trust can help get weight off of your stomach and relieve some of that stress. A lot of the time they have useful tips or advice to give to you. Bottling up your feelings, especially when it comes to highly stressful situations can just lead to more problems. If you’re able to talk with someone else you can work through your problems outside of yourself and feel better while doing it.
But honestly, all that really matters when getting a new sibling is building a relationship built off of trust, whether they’re a baby or somebody your own age. By working through how you feel about this new addition, you can work on your relationship and trust later on. A big life change is scary, but if you take it one step at a time, and focus on your own feelings and your family, you will get through this unscathed!
