How hard is the transition from 2 kids to 3 kids. is a gap between kids better or have them close together??

Answer 1

If you have 2 kids then 3 isn't any harder. You just need to count more heads, feed more mouths and give more attention.
I have done things both ways. I had 3 children close together which didn't cause much problems until later (ie. 3 driving, 3 yearbooks, 3 proms, graduations one after another). On the other hand the other one came 4 years later and the other 3 didn't want him bugging him because he was younger and in their way.
So you have to decide which your willing to deal with.

Answer 2

As for the gap, I always thought that two and half or three years was the best spread - it prevented having them all go through the same phases at the same time, and usually prevented me from having more than one in diapers or cribs at the same time. Yet being that close in age allowed them to have more things in common once they were a little older.

As for the transition, I think the roughest one was going from one kid to two. Where you could nearly always grab the one baby, throw some cheerios, a bottle and a diaper in a bag and take off anywhere, two made that more cumbersome. Folks you visited wouldn't mind one baby, but two or more could seem like an invasion.

Adding more kids to the family after the second one doesn't really require as much of a transition, unless you're thinking of a larger house and yard and such. You already have experience dealing with children's needs, you likely already have the necessary equipment on hand - so it mostly becomes an issue with time management. Enough time to spend with each kid separately, enough to spend with them as a group, and enough to get everything else in your life accomplished, too. LOL.

Answer 3

I have 3 kids, ages 11, 9 and 3. The transition is not that bad, but there are a few irritating things like not all cars will set 5, and when getting a hotel room you cant book offline because they will only book 4 per room. my 2 oldest are the best big brothers in the world, they baby my daughter to much that is about it. there was never any jealousy. which is nice about the age differance, but on the other hand when she starts school and begins to want to do things, I will not feel as safe because there is only her, she doesnt have anyone doing those things with her.

Answer 4

It was harder for me to go from 1 to 2 but of course my oldest two are 7 years apart and there is only 21 months between the younger two. And again I doubt it matters because by the time the third one came around I was nuts from dealing with the other two so one more didn't matter. I do like having them closer together though they entertain each other and are a lot closetr than with their sister.

Answer 5

Well I have a gap my kids are 11, 6, 4 and I am due soon. It is challenging. Now I have a friend who has 9 kids...the oldest are 20 and the youngest are 1. Oldest and youngest are sets of twin boys.

Answer 6

My first 2 children were 18 months apart and it was wonderful! They play together so well. Our third did not come along until the others were 4 and 2 1/2. I preferred having the first children close together because we never really got out of that "baby mode". We never stopped bringing the diaper bag and stroller along. When our third child came along we had become used to not bringing all the baby things.

Answer 7

Have them close together so they grow up together, other wise you will have a couple of teenagers and the equivelent of an only child in the youngest sibling, as the older ones will just be annoyed by the more demanding toddler. Yes, they'll think he/she is cute, but will be intolerant.
Get all the nappies out of the way and life is much easier for you too!

Answer 8

My sister-in-law said going from 2-3 was WAY more difficult than going from 1-2. The two younger ones are just over 2 years apart.

Answer 9

finanically and emotionally it can be very straining. the choice to have them close or far apart is entirely up to you. however i feel that if you have them too far apart it will be difficult for them to relate. also it may prevent you from doing family activities together where the older children are allowed to do certain things the younger may not be able to. it's easier to raise them when they are all experiencing similar stages in life as well.

Answer 10

For me it wold be very hard I have a 19 year old daughter and a 17 year old son and the thought of going through it all again is unimaginable