to everybody who has/planning to have2 or more kids?

Question

just out of interest what would you say is the best age difference to have between your children. my kids are 5,4,2

its intresting to see most of yous thing the closer the age the better. my bother was 5 years younger than me and i hated him from when he was about 7 -14. my two eldest who are 13mths apart can play great 1 minute and hate each other the nxt. has anybody had kids that were the same and they get on great now( the 5 year old is a boy, they other 2 are girls)the 2 girls get on great.

thank you to everybody who gave there opinion, i didnt realise how many people felt the same as me.

Answer 1

Age diffeence is perfect, especially if the oldest is a boy. I always wanted an older brother but instead i am in a middle, my sister is oldest and brother is the youngest. Age difference is perfect similar to yours. My sis is 26, i am 23 and my brother is 18. Anytime there is 2-5 years difference is always good. One can be there to help another one, especially school wise, because one of them is always going to ahead and can help youngest ones. I want to have 3. First one need to be a boy of course. :)

Answer 2

My kids are 10, 4, 2. They all fight and then sometimes they get along. My 10 year old finds it fun to "bother" "annoy" or "pick on the younger ones. My 4 year old is the well behaved one, my youngest one is my only daughter and she is the bully, so she will try to take away things that my 4 year old son has, as he is playing by himself, not bothering anyone. Hard to say. I think it's just up to the children's personalities and how well they all mesh together. I have 2 brothers and 1 sister 35 is the oldest. I am 30, my younger brother is 27 and my sister is 19. The only one that I didn't fight with was my sister and I think it's because I am 12 years older than her and we didn't have the same interest or "toys".. I think the further the age gap the better. However, I didn't plan my kids like that as you can see.

Answer 3

My children are now aged 16, 14, & 13, so yes I do understand what you are saying. The only difference is my eldest is a girl and my youngest is a girl with the boy in the middle, and yes I have had the bickering one minute and the getting along great the next, but I still reckon its better for the children if they have their siblings close in age rather than five or six years age difference because they do definitely have alot more in common and as they get older like my three they share their secrets ( like who they were out with at a disco) nothing major, they sill come to me with any problems or worries but they can talk it over together first and discuss with each other how they tell either their dad or me if for instance someone was bullying them.

In answer to your question I would most definitely recommend no more than a two year age gap.

Answer 4

My children are 13, 8, and 5 and I like the age spread. I grew up with only one sister that is almost 9 years older than me and that was just too far apart. So, it was natural for me to have my children further apart. I felt that I have had more of an opportunity to enjoy my children's baby years and it was definitely less stressful. I never felt the pressure of getting "it" out of the way. Family planning is a personal decision, it just depends on what both parents want and can handle.

Answer 5

My kids are 7(boy), 3(boy), 2(girl) - I'm due again in October. The two youngest play really well together they are more like twins. But I can see my second son taking more interest in his older brother, both love the attention of their older brother but as they say 3's a crowd (well with mine anyway!). I did not intend to leave a big gap between the 1st and second but that is how nature went!, There is only 11 months between the second and third and it is the best decision we made - they are such good friends - took a bit longer with our fourth but I think my body needed time to relax!

Answer 6

There's four years between my brother and me and we never agreed on anything until we were 14 &18 and by then I was moving out!
My kids are 2 and a half years apart. They had their squabbles as children but since the youngest was about 10 they've been very good friends - they're now 19 and almost 17 and very close.

Answer 7

I have 10 yr old twin boys a 5 yr old girl and we have an adopted 9 month old baby, I like the age difference I have as it means as they have been babies I've really been able to spend that time with them as the other children have been older but I can see that having them closer together would mean they could have someone close in age to play with.

Answer 8

I have 2 girls. They are 5 and 9. My 2 sisters and I were 4 years apart also. I think that is a good age seperation.

Answer 9

I don't think there is a best age difference! My kids are 10, 8, 4 and 1 - there are pros and cons for each age gap - sometimes they are all little angels and other times I'm pulling my hair out and climbing the walls! My older two are lovely with the younger two, but really fight with each other.

Answer 10

It's an individual thing, really. My sister and I are 7 years apart; we rarely got along while we were younger, and don't talk much now. However, her kids are 19 and 17, and although they argue, they're still available to each other; however, considering my sister and brother-in-law's habits, it's not hard to see why! So my best guess is: space them out, but not too far between.