The arrival of a new born baby will always cause a certain amount of turmoil within a household. When there are older siblings the turmoil can be interesting to say the least. One problem can often be jealousy.

Being able to share is one of the most important measures to countering sibling jealousy. If necessary, say hang the housework and spend your free time enjoying some quality moments with elder siblings. We all know that new born baby require a lot of attention. Free time should be dedicated to the other children and, as parents, each other.

Here are some tips that may make the parenting role just that little bit easier.

Avoid the baby excuse: It is so easy to say, No!, I am busy feeding baby right now. Or please be quiet, the baby is asleep. Instead, provide a positive response. If baby is asleep, take the older children to another room where you can spend some time with them. If you are feeding, changing or bathing baby, give a time line. I will do ????? in ten minutes. By shifting the focus away from baby, baby will no longer get the blame for everything.

Get them involved: Let the older children help wherever possible. Even toddlers enjoy helping, holding nappies or clothing, sprinkle the powder and place dirty laundry in wash pile. School age children are old enough to learn how to change, wash and cloth baby - learning by example, not necessarily by doing.

Acknowledge the disruption: life changes when a new baby enters the home. When your child starts to comment about the changes, acknowledge their feelings and share them. Let them know that life is full of changes and a new baby is just one change. Going to school/high school will bring more changes. Turn change into a lesson on life without preaching to them. Be gentle with your acknowledgment of their feelings.

Avoid negative comparisons: negative comparisons will always breed ill-will. Baby is not crying so why are you? Baby will be toilet trained before you. These are all negatives and not helpful. Positives can be very helpful. Look, baby has blue eyes just like you. Positives like that can help develop a bond between baby and older children.

Share the love: the most important part of being a parent is to share the love. If possible, have the older child sitting next to you at feed time (so long as they are not disruptive to the feed). Share your time, but make time for everyone together. When it is floor time for baby, get everyone down on the floor together and make a game of it. Make sure you are able to greet them in the morning (with a hug and a smile) and say goodnight to them before bed. If possible have 'their' time, reading or playing games or just sitting and talking.

A new born is a disruption to the home. Jealousy can be a major problem. If you work on sharing early, you can reduce the effects. You can start by being positive and letting your children be a part of the pregnancy. A family that can get on together is ultimately a happy family.