29 November 2019

4 Simple Bonding Activities for Siblings with Big Age Gap

When people knew I was pregnant with my second child, most of them were a bit surprised to find out the 9-year age gap between her and my eldest, Sophia. Some even insinuated that close in ages is better; saying that the kids will be instant buddies and that they actually worry if my girls will ever understand each other. Well, guess what? Their age gap is actually a huge blessing!


I mean, it seems as if our Sammybear has a second mom in her Ate Sophia. I think my firstborn prepared for it really well. She was 6 years old when she started praying specifically for a baby sister so when our little boss arrived, she started taking her job as a big sister seriously.

In fact, as of writing this, they're in the living area—making noise and memories.

So if you're wondering how my two balls of fire are actually getting along, here are some of their favorite activities to do together! 

FEEDING THE BABY 
It's my joy and pride to raise foodies. Ate Sophia loves sharing the food she fancies with Sammy! She gets kilig when she sees her baby sis liking what she loves. From breakfast cereals to yogurt to chicken tinola. I often hear her say, "ah, we're really sisters!" And knowing that my queen-in-training can already feed the boss baby responsibly makes me feel blessed to have kids with big age gap.
GOING ON A ROAD TRIP 
The big sis can assist with the baby's needs such as giving her food or toy. She can even entertain her when baby's being fussy. Also, it's inevitable for siblings with close in ages to bicker over petty things inside the car but with big age gap, thank Heavens, it doesn't happen! 
READING  
My eldest has already accumulated quite a number of books since she knew how to read so when Sammy was born, she looked forward to reading all those to her. And since my baby bookworm now has favorite books, we actually kind of regret introducing it to her at an early age haha. Kasi ba naman, she wants us to read Eric Carle's 10 Little Rubber Ducks for three consecutive times! Yes, as in one turn for each of us lol. 
PRE-BEDTIME ROUTINE 
Sure, this isn't exactly a leisure activity but trust me mommas, only siblings with big age gap can actually create a bathtime routine together without your presence. Like duh, who needs a high-paid nanny when you have a big sissy haha! Yes, I have entrusted their pre-bedtime routine to Ate Sophia for the many times that I needed to breathe. And boy, was I lucky that my eldest is someone who can strictly follow duties in its perfect sequence. She needs constant reminder, though but she sure is a responsible and patient sister especially during brush time! 
Sammy loves having baths but she can be quite a handful whenever we brush her teeth! Ayaw niya na kinakalikot siya. Good thing we can still make brush time a happy time for my tiny tot. How? Easy! She just has to copy what her big sister is doing! Although she really isn't doing it properly yet, we're glad that at least she sticks to their routine. For instance, she'd point to her toothbrush and toothpaste when we start bathing her; she thought we forgot. Also because she enjoys holding her Hapee toothpaste. Thanks to its cute packaging with some of our favorite Disney characters! Sophia grew up with this brand and is now excited to see her sister use it. But the little one isn't allowed to use it for now since she can't spit it out yet, maybe in a few months time when she knows how already.


There's a funny meme that says raising more than one child makes mom a referee but luckily for me, this isn't true. Parenting my pre-teen is tougher these days, no thanks to her hormones that are starting to build up to full adolescence. But I know my husband and I can depend on her on raising our little Sammy.

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hapee Kiddie Toothpaste but all text and photos are my own.

2 comments:

  1. ito din talaga maganda pag malaki ang age gap, kasi responsible at more mature na si ate o kuya, mahirap kasi kung maliit lang age gap palagi nag aaway o kaya hindi mo pwede paalagaan si baby hehe

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    1. In fairness, there are also cons to having kids with big age gap but I wouldn’t have it any other way! Love how God planned our lives well.

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