Hi Jonathan,

I don't have older children, but my thoughts are that a 13 year old is affected qucikly & deeply by any type of news/change in family cirumstances. Plus it is ususally made worse due to the fact that they are going through puberty & all of the confusion that that alone entails.

So sadly I don't have any answers for you.

To give you an example, when I was 13 my Dad became very ill. At the same time, I started smoking & playing truant, and certainly all efforts toward schoolwork diminished, all of which were totally out of character for me. This carried on for a few months. No doubt I caused my parents, particularly my Mother, no end of frustration. The turning point was an older brother sitting me down and explaining all of the impacts of my Dad being so ill, and how it affected everybody.

So my only suggestion would be to really make time to talk to your son about the impacts of the pregnancy, how is is affecting everyone right now, how it will affect he future of the family, & what his new role is likely to be.

Not sure if this is any help to you?