How to Deal with 2 Year Olds Behavior in Regards to Our 6 Month Old

It will get way worse. 2 and 3 yrs is a really hard age for children. They are growing so fast and learning so much. But life is still ALL about them.

You will get lots of folks to say "redirect" I agree. I would try that. But when that doesn't work a time out or swat on the rear usually does.

L. (H. now)

I had similar problems with my little ladies. The first couple months were easy cuz the older one loved to help take care of her sister. Once the little one was moving, it became more of a challenge. Part of it I think was just that the older one didn't know how to help anymore. She knew that it was not ok to push the buttons on the TV or whatever, but she didn't know how to tell the baby that so she would get frustrated. The baby also learns really fast that if they take a toy from the older one, they get a reaction from not just the other child but mom too and it becomes a game. I realized that I was assuming that the older one was doing a lot of things that the little one did so I had to pay closer attention to who was playing with what toys and that kind of thing so I was diciplining the right child. Another thing that I found really helped was one on one time with the older child. I made a special effort to spend quality time with the older one while the baby was asleep so that she got her snuggles in too. I lot of the problems that we were having were simple because the older one was not getting the attention that she was used too or that she needed. When I started the one on one time and used that time to talk to her some about how she was acting with the baby, things started to improve. Reinforce the positive behavior when you see them doing it so they they can learn what is the right way to do things. We expect so much from the older child now that they are the "big" kid but sometimes I think we forget that the "big" kid is still really little and needs help learning too.

perfectly normal behavior for a 2 y.o. & it's hard to witness & hard to correct.

One of the easiest ways is to "model" the desired behavior. When your son wants to use/do something that is yours....just say, "this is my book, but I like to share with you". It sounds totally dorky (& my family makes fun of me)....but it does work with children. Right now in my daycare, I have 2 2y.o. & a 5 y.o. - & the 5 y.o. is now saying it to the 2's!

As for books, there are quite a few out there about "sharing" & also about "being a big brother/boy". Even the Berenstain Bears had books on these subjects! Check with the library or Google it. Good Luck & as always, consistency is the key!

Good Morning J., This is perfectly normal behavior for most older siblings when the baby comes home. They are so excited, then the new wears off when they notice this thing can crawl and play with their toys and sit on their Mommys, Daddy's & Nana's lap...lol
I kept Corbin involved when Zane arrived, he helped with Binkies, diapers, wipes etc. If Zane was on my lap at story time I made room for Corbin on my lap to. If it was feeding time Corbin had a snack and helped hold the bottle. He helped rock Zane to sleep a few times too. That was fun and a challenge all in one. Especially when they BOTH fell asleep lol
Zane is 19 months now and the first time he was able to throw his own diaper in the trash, Corbin was upset cause that was His job as Nana's Big Helper. I told Corbin it was ok cause he had done such a good job that Zane watched him and learned how to do it now.

I am sure the other great Mama's have alot of other information that will help you. There are books on just about every topic we could ask for & then some. lol

God Bless you on your newest bundle of joy
K. Nana of 5

We have a 2 1/2 year old and an almost none-month-old. It is hard, yes, but there are a few tricks that help!

Like another poster mentioned, ask the older brother to help. They really do like being needed!
Ask older brother to show little brother how to (crawl, stand, walk, run, jump, etc). He'll get a kick out of teaching! And while he is teaching, you can help the little one try out his new skills!
Ask older brother to help you encourage little brother to share. When older recognizes younger as a real person with real needs, it does help.
Let older brother know that he will get mommy time, but you need to attend to younger one first. I found myself saying, "I will read you a book, but first, I need to (feed your brother, change his diaper, etc)." Then follow through. Now he knows it's okay to wait because he will get what he needs... he just needs to wait. And I find himself telling himself to wait a minute!

Good luck finding what works for you. It does take a bit to catch on, but it will. I promise!

I just wanted to say that I feel for you and it will get better. I have 3 children 2 and 2 1/2 years apart. There will be a time when they are each others best friends and other times as they grow that they will not like each other at all. The love they have for each other will make you smile so while your 2 year old is making you crazy remember how wonderful the future will be. I have used time outs. I have to say the best thing for me was making my 2 year old my helper and then lots of praise, also if you can time a lone with your oldest. It will get better and it will be wonderful.

I felt like I spent the first year of my younger one's life protecting him from his older brother! However, something that helped was taking turns. I often had to tell older brother that it was his little brother's turn. But then I would try to find many other opportunities to tell little brother that it was his older brother's turn (be it time with mommy, getting carried up the stairs, etc.). Of course the baby had no idea what I talking about but the point was that older brother did! And I think he appreciated it. They are 22 1/2 months apart and now that they are 2 and 4 they still do plenty of fighting - the little guy can fight back now! - but they also play together and it's so fun to watch. Good luck!