Jealousy - when does it start and how to reduce it?

[schment]

My 13mo dd is starting to show signs of jealousy. Mostly she's jealous of the computer (taking mummy's attention away) but she also gets jealous if I'm talking to someone else or of other babies' toys. It's not outrageously bad yet but I'm wondering if people have any tricks to stop it... And, as thinking about ttc dd/s2, I'm wondering what it will be like when there's someone to be jealous of...

[WigWamBam]

It's not really jealousy, even though it looks like it. You have it spot on when you say "taking mummy's attention away" ... she believes herself to be the centre of the universe and doesn't yet understand that other things are important too ... so becomes frustrated when she doesn't have your undivided attention. She barely even knows that she's separate from you yet, let alone that you need to do things away from her sometimes.

I presume she gets lots of positive attention at other times?

It will pass ... eventually. As she gets older and realises that she is a separate being in her own right, she will find things that she can do by herself and will be happier to do things without you. And of course she will become more capable of doing things without your input.

[schment]

Thanks, WigWamBam, I suppose you're right. She definitely gets lots of attention - it's fair enough, really, for her to think she is the centre of the universe because she practically is! I guess it's just becoming painfully clear what sibling rivalry is all about -- one minute she's the centre of my world and 9months later, she has to share that place with someone else. Not easy, really.