Is this safe?

I have two older girls who just turned 5 and 7, and 13 week old twins. My 7 year old LOVES to hold the babies and can acutally be helpful at times. I have limited her to holding them while sitting down and sometimes a bottle. She is allowed to walk with them briefly to put them in bouncy seats or things like that.

One timewhile walking she slipped on the floor and fell to her knees but TOTALLY protected the baby (to the detriment of her own knees).

What is safe to let her do? She would love me to let her walk them around when they are fussy, and I am tempted to, but is this too dangerous? Would this be irresponsible?

 

I have two older girls who just turned 5 and 7, and 13 week old twins. My 7 year old LOVES to hold the babies and can acutally be helpful at times. I have limited her to holding them while sitting down and sometimes a bottle. She is allowed to walk with them briefly to put them in bouncy seats or things like that.

One timewhile walking she slipped on the floor and fell to her knees but TOTALLY protected the baby (to the detriment of her own knees).

What is safe to let her do? She would love me to let her walk them around when they are fussy, and I am tempted to, but is this too dangerous? Would this be irresponsible?

 

When my twins were born my oldest DD was 7. I let my 4 yr old DD and the 8 year old DD hold them only while sitting.
I nurse them, but if I was bottle-feeding I would have let them help a bit with that as long as they were healthy at the time.

They helped by getting me things for the babies, picking out clothes, gathering bath items, etc.

I know my DD is all legs at this point and I would not let her carry the babies, still. If anything were to happen, I would not want her to be feeling horrible, nevermind the babies health.

Just my opinion, and some kids my be more ready than others, or more parents willing to let them.

 

I have a 7 year old daughter & struggle with the same issue. She is so amazingly helpful and adores her baby brother & sister and she wants to carry them around but it stresses me out. My older two carry them around a fair bit though and, I swear, the 7 year old is better. I think the older two get a bit comfortable with the babies & forget to be super careful where Tess knows they are a lot for her to handle so she tries to be extra careful. My biggest concern is that if something happened and one of the babies got hurt, it would be something she would never forgive herself for, so I really make sure I am there to help her when she is helping me (does that make sense? ), and I give her extra jobs like feeding bottles, picking out clothes & helping change them, rocking them, playing with them on the floor or in their Bumbos, etc.

 

I don't really have a concrete answer for you, but maybe keeping her to this level of activity for a while till you get a better gut feeling in a while. That said, I was the main cause of most bonks on the head and while I never dropped them, it would be much closer to the ground if SHE does. (Not sure I should even "say" that out loud!)

You really know your DD the best and maybe limiting her is best, but maybe she can handle more and only YOU really know!! Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

My niece is 8 yr old and she is they same way...she always wants to hold them, etc. I let her but she really knows her own limitations and will ask for help if she is unsure or unconfident about a situation. I don't let her carry them a lot at my house because we have hardwood floors & slate flooring mostly. Also, she is small for her age and Jonah weighs 20 lbs. now. I don't know if she could carry him very far.

I'm confident in my niece though and wish she could do more because she is such a great helper and just loves the babies. She would be over here everyday if she could.

 

I think having her sit and hold them right now is a good idea. When they get bigger (and stronger) than she can be more mobile with them. I think it is great she is so involved and your 4 year old is too! My 4 yr old is such a big help!

I love your ticker saying btw!

 

I agree with others that it's probably fine - I think that in some cultures, older sisters are expected to watch their younger siblings from about that age.

 

I think it depends on the child and what you think. I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old, and my boys are 6 months now. I have been letting them both carry them since 2 months. I started just letting them stand, then to carry them only on the carpet. After they proved they could do it, they have complete control. They won't do it if they can't, and set them down when they need to. My 4 year old can carry them longer than my 6 year old can, so I think it really does depend on the child.

In fact, I just last week let them start carrying them up the stairs which are carpeted and so not steep, with my husband or myself right behind them. My 6 year old handed my a boy half way up, so I know they are always very cautious of their capabilities. So, again, you know what your kids are capable of. Neither of my daughters pick a baby up ever without permission. It works for us.

 

I agree with what the pp say. If you think she is cautious and knows her limitations, it is probably fine. Like Bex said, in many cultures, the older sis takes care of the babies.
Melisas

 

My 7 yr old will hold the boys for me. (One at a time of course, although he recently asked if he could hold both ) He sits on the couch and asks if he can hold them, I hand him a baby and prop his arm with a pillow. He's rocked a fussy Sean to sleep many times when I couldn't. I also let him carry them for short distances. He knows it's very important not to drop them or leave them somewhere where they can fall. I feel confident in his abilities because he is so cautious. I guess what I'm really saying is it depends on the child and their abilities as well as your comfort level.