Just how differently do you treat your second child?

This more chilled attitude to parenting a second child means baby No. 2 is less mollycoddled and encouraged to grow up faster. Earlier weaning, less nappy changes and being left to cry for longer are all among the changes most of us seem to make when raising our second baby, according to the OnePoll survey of 3,000 mums for baby and toddler brand Munchkin.

Of the mums surveyed, here are the 18 things they admit to doing differently with their second child. Let us know which apply to you...

1. Leaving them to entertain themselves while getting on with the housework (33 %)
2. Only changing the nappy when necessary, not after every feed (33 %)
3. Stop making own baby food and start blending the family meal (26 %)
4. Weaning at 4 months, not 6 (26 %)
5. Leaving them crying for longer rather than rushing to see what is wrong
6. More willing to accept secondhand clothes
7. Spending less money on toys and treats
8. Only having them in the bedroom for the first few weeks, not the first 6 months
9. Letting them watch ‘older television’ at a younger age than their older sibling
10. Not being as worried about safety and buying home safety products
11. Happier to buy secondhand safety products
12. Leaving them to manage their own food
13. Picking them up less when they hurt themselves
14. Giving them chocolate and sweets at an earlier age
15. Spending less money on safety products
16. Going back to work sooner
17. Expecting them to develop quicker
18. Putting them in nursery earlier

Read more…

• Cost of second child forces parents to stay at home
• Is the time right for a second baby?
• Children learn as much from siblings as they do from parents