The birth of a younger infant whilst an older child is in the toddler or preschool period is such a normal event that the proper handling of the situation should be regarded as an integral part of childcare. Put in its simplest terms, the problem is one of the older children being displaced by the new baby as the centre of attention and focus of his mother's affection. Such a displacement is inevitable, but its effects on the older child can either be helpful to his development (as when he accepts the baby with pleasure into his family circle and so takes a step forward from the egotism of babyhood) or harmful when jealousy predominates over any pleasure in having a brother or sister and the child becomes hostile to his mother and more demanding of her attention, returning to many of the practices of babyhood which he had outgrown. Thus a child or three or four may demand to sleep in his old cradle, to take milk from the bottle or breast, to be constantly carried, or may restart wetting the bed. Any or all of these symptoms may appear transiently in a child who subsequently adapts well to the new situation, but when they persist they indicate that the child is receiving less attention and affection than he needs.
According to the passage, when a new baby in the family becomes the centre of the mother's attention, the older child ___.
will also shower him with attention
is likely to feel he has been displaced and react accordingly
usually welcomes him warmly into the family circle
is usually terribly pleased at first, but later doubts start to develop
will generally be delighted with the new member of the family if he has been sensibly prepared for his coming
It is clear from the passage that the arrival of a new baby into a family ___.
invariably makes an older child feel unloved and unwanted
invariably makes the first child exceedingly jealous
results in the older one automatically reverting to baby ways
may have a positive effect or a negative one on the development of the older child
is sure to be a joyful event for the older child
We understand from the passage that many children react with some degree of jealousy when there is a new baby ___.
but this need not be taken seriously
and this gradually intensifies as the months go by
but this phase soon passes if the child is receiving adequate love and attention
and one sign is a rapid advance forward in social skills
but this could have been avoided if the child had been better prepared for the event