Our first children are always a delight. We coddle them, teach them and notice every little detail of their development. By the time our second child is born, we're a little too worn-out to offer a rousing round of applause for eating peas and carrots. Yes, there's a difference between the way we react to the antics of our first and second children that we cannot deny.
Like, say, in these six scenarios:
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Scenario 1: Baby cries in the middle of the night.
First Child: Leap out of bed to soothe that baby.
Second Child: While on the phone with your sister, you say, "What? You hear someone crying?"
Scenario 2: Someone asks to hold the baby.
First Child: "Can you wash your hands first, take this blanket and sit here next to me so I can keep an eye on you two?"
Second Child: You hand him over, saying, "Here. I'll be back in an hour."
"Just go back to sleep."
Scenario 3: Teacher calls to report child was throwing crayons at a classmate at school.
First Child: "How dare you call me with this nonsense? I'll have you know that my child is extremely well-behaved and respectful of adults. Why are you singling my child out!?"
Second Child: "Oh yeah? Anything else?"
Scenario 4: Child wakes up in the middle of the night and tells you he wet the bed.
First Child: Change the sheets, put him back into a dry bed, Google "bed wetting strategies that work."
Second Child: Placing a towel over the wet spot, you tell him, "Just go back to sleep."
Scenario 5: Child throws a tantrum while guests are over.
First Child: As you remove him from the room and stay gone for 15 minutes, you say, "Let's talk about your behavior."
Second Child: You announce in front of everyone, "Stop it, or no iPad."
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Scenario 6: Child has first birthday.
First Child: 1,000 Pictures, a collage and a video
Second Child: One Facebook update, if you remember.
