Messages By: amyking29

It is true there are sometime little material rewards for doing what is right but that is not why most people do what is right in the first place.

It is really hard to judge people that appear on this show based on 30 second well edited clips of their lives.  I would expect that there is generally more to the story then what is seen on TV.

So if your nieces or nephews showed up on your door step needing a place to live you would send them packing if there was not enough room in your house?  Or are you saying you would let them stay but would not go looking for hand outs from others to help care for them?

When we had our second child (we only have two), we involved our daughter in the whole thing.  The gap between them (51/2 years) was bigger than you have, so these ideas may not work for you.  I think the real essence of success lies in making sure that your daughter feels that the role of "big sister" is very important:  

• I had a book with photographs of the stages of fetal development so she knew what he looked like every month. 
• She watched my ultrasounds.
• She talked and sang to him in my tummy.
• I don't remember where I got them, but I had a box of sample size baby products and she used them on her best friend, bunny foo-foo, to practice being a big sister. 
• Before he was born, we picked out rattles and puppets for her to use to distract him if he cried.
• She was at the hospital waiting when I had my planned c-section.
• She was involved in choosing his name.
• She was the first person to feed him pablum.
• She taught him letters and numbers.

We also made sure that she was front and center and not overlooked by the extended family.  They are now 7 and 13 and their relationship has always been wonderful. I rarely see any signs of jealousy or rivalry.