Having a brother and sister really helps Lotte in her development. All the (waking) time she will have children around her that are a rolemodel for speech.
But still, with a child that needs additional attention - due to a communication gap - the attention towards the other children is unintentionally reduced.
They are at an age that they understand how Lotte does need some priority and they handle it really well. So well, that it is not noticed....
That is, until it's obvious.
Yesterday, Lotte had one of her stubborn moods. Refusing to put on cloths that were chose by her mom. Discipline didn't help and with a mother that needs to address two other children that need breakfast and need to go to school, frustration grows rapidly (I was offshore, so I was no help...)
The atmosphere at the start of such a day is far from good, but as I said, the other two are handling it really well.
But they need more attention. Attention without Lotte around. Attention just to them.
So, we hire a babysitter for saturday that will take care of Lotte (they know each other from the kindergarten) and Jelle and Sanne will be treated to a nice afternoon in the cinema and restaurant.
And these kind of things will have to happen more often, because it is too easy to forget the help one gets from the others.
It would be interesting to find out how the development of a child depends upon it's place in the family. A only-child with CI will have a different development compared to a child that has siblings. And even with brothers and sisters, the development of a deaf child will depend if the child is the oldest or youngest (or in the middle).
Would Lotte have developed if she had had a younger sibling... probably... because this sibling might have been at the same stage of speech development.
Anyway, we feel blessed with how it turned out; Lotte as the youngest with an older brother and sister....
She has no idea (yet) of how lucky she is!
