Pros and cons of having kids close in age?

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I’m looking for opinions on the pros and cons of having kids close in age and farther apart in age. Thank you!

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I have 3 kids that are each several years apart. Always felt bad for them because each would tell me they were lonely and wished they had a brother or sister.

My oldest is 5. Middle is 2. Youngest is 1.

Its better because they can all play together and not have other hobbies. They pretty much all play with toys and have imaginations growing at the same time!

You also can teach everything at the same time and its nice for the older ones to get repeatitive so they dont forget.

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My kids are 22, 12, and 6. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I got to spend the baby years with each of them. The only thing that was hard is that because they have a big age gap they fight sometimes or they dont play with each other

I have a 10 year old and a 1 year old. It’s nice that my oldest helps out with her sister alot, but it was kind of hard to go from a mature 10 year old back to taking care of a baby

My babies will be 13 months apart and then I’m getting fixed. I’m 21 and I only want two one boy one girl. they will grow up really close together and that’s just hoe we wanted it

My granddaughter is 9 and my grandson is 4 and they fight constantly

My oldest is almost 13 and my two youngest are 8 and almost 7. I hate the age gap with my oldest. It’s hard to do things as a family because she’s either too old and not into it or they’re too young. My two youngest are 15 mos apart and I love it. They have all the same interests and do everything together. My oldest says all the time how she wishes she had a sibling closer to her age so she can have the same bond they have

I have a 3 4 and 5 year old back to back and boy do i have my hands full along with a full time job and wife its harder than it really is

I prefer close together… Yes it’s hard but they bond together so much… I loved it…Now my kids. Are…plus I lost 2 babies in between 52 and the. After the 48 old… 53…52…50…49…48

1 and 2 are 5 years apart. 2 and 3 are 4 years apart. 3 and 4 are 16 months apart. I always wanted lots of kids and really close together. However it didnt work that way and after I had my last one I really wish there had been some years between them. I really enjoyed having the space between them. I also then felt with my last pregnancy I was robbing my third one of the special time I had between my first 2.

Cons: if you wait you may find yourself less fertile . Kids may be farther apart in age than you like, due to this. Kids 12-13 years apart are often “strangers” to one another. My sister was more like an older aunt— I wound up becoming her caregiver. Later in life, being the only one left with all the responsibilities sucks

My daughter and son are 11 months apart both born in may LOL . They are now 2 and 1 . I wouldn’t have it any other way they are best friends

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One is 7 one is 8…its heaven now

My kids are 2 yrs apart(23 months actually) it is a lot of work for a few yrs but they are best friends and are hardly ever apart. They are adults now.

I have two 15 mths apt which is rough but good siblings close in age. And I have a older one as well…

All my siblings r close in age I’m glad

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Pro: you’ll have two kids… Some days that’s questionable as a pro :joy:
Con: they fight constantly

Did I mention this applies to both lol age gap doesn’t matter :joy:

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My oldest two are 22 months apart and are the best of friends! They eat, sleep, and play together they are inseparable My middle and youngest are 21 months apart and my middle is so rude to her and don’t listen to anything she don’t want anyone messing with her baby sister she wants all the attention.

Honestly it all depends on the kids…my sister is 14 months older than me, and HATED me from the day I was born until we became adults. My brother is almost 2 years younger than me, and we got along a lot better growing up. But a lot of people say their close-in-age kids have the best bond so :woman_shrugging:t3::woman_shrugging:t3:
I personally want to wait a few years between mine because of my own personal experience.

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I had a girl and then a boy 3 years apart and there close. Never fight. Then i had 2 kids boy and girl, 10 months apart, they fight and literally hate each other. Wish i would have spread it out more :wink:

I’ve got a 4 and 2 year old and a 14 day old. Pros are I won’t be making bottles/breastfeeding all hours of the day and night at an older age. Cons. I’m gonna be batshit insane by the time they’re adults cause THEY ARE WILD. Lol. But it’s all good.

Mine r 5 yrs apart & I’m blessed to have them as I lost 3…feels like they were all only children cause for this…they r bffs now that they r grown

I have four siblings (not including my later in life adopted brother). My sisters and I are 7 years apart (I’m in the middle) and I have two brothers who are close in age to me (27 and 10 months respectively). My sisters and I took a long time to be friendly with one another. My brothers and I were super close. I’m close with all of them now, so it doesn’t really make a difference.

I have a 21,17,14,6 and 1yo. The age gap was nice because I was able to focus on each child and give them undivided attention while the older kids were at school. I watched my sister raise 2girls 11months apart and it was hard. She had to buy diapers for 2,double stroller,car seats for 2 and needless to say going anywhere alone was mission impossible.

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Depending on your own age of course, but babies need to be
the baby.

My two youngest are 11 months apart and both boys.
Pro: they always have someone to play with.
I only have to buy one size of clothes and shoes since they both wear the same size.
They both have a really close relationship
I didnt feel like i was starting all over (compared to having a kid already in school and having a newborn)
They both have the same schedules because the same age range
They both have the same learning skill set so i dont have to teach or explain things much differently
Cons: The beginning is very hard…almost like having twins. They didnt sleep on the same schedules until 1 and 2.
The older one reverted back to baby behavior instead of toddler behavior when his brother was born. - this took longer to potty train and get off the bottle. (He wanted to be a baby still b/c his brother)
They fight alot more then other siblings who have a bigger age gap (from my experience w/ my older daughter and nieces/nephews)
Two car seats to lug around
…but there are alot of variables. This is just from my personal experience.

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I think 3 years apart is great.

I wanted kids close in age, 2. Just two kids close in age :joy: what’d I end up with after finding out I wad pregnant with my second child ? Finding out I was pregnant with my 2nd & 3rd child 🤷:joy:

Mine are 11yrs apart n i wldnt have done it any other way

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Further apart is like all single children plus all those years of teenagers ( believe me, I know oldest 22, next 16, youngest 8) and the older siblings always play mommy and the younger will always talk back (because they see those crummy teenagers doing it) and ALL THOSE DIAPERS! My youngest was almost TRAINED at 9 months because at 4+ or 5+ months when she sat up I stuck her little bum on the potty. No accidents by 1 and only 3 total accidents ever (God love her little heart). Good luck

Pros: they will be out the house year after year. Cons: they will fight almost all the time. I have a 11,8,7,5, and 3 year old. The best relationship is between the 11 and 8 year old because they are three years apart. When they are around the same age they will be interested in the same things but they will also fight over the same things. My 11 year old soon 12 could care less about the younger kids toys. We thought if we had our kids young we could play young with them with sports and them activities. We do that but with the age Gap all are interested in different things and difficult to do. Me being in the circumstance that I’m in I would say wait unless you have extra help to fulfill your kids needs having them all with no help. It’s almost like I have to have a date with my child to get one on one time because the others are always there and interrupting.

Mine are barely 2 years apart and I love it cause they’re close and always have a best friend around and I hate it cause they are always going at it I’m chalking that up to being sisters :woman_facepalming:t2:

41, 40, 26 & 25. No, didn’t plan the big space ( two marriages) close together for two is good, hard at first but helpful later. I wouldn’t do three that way unless you don’t work or spouse is very supportive, you may fly alone. The big space was hard, like starting over!!! Felt my age! Do it before 35, as advanced maternal age causes women to have more pregnancy complications-gestational diabetes, pre eclampsia, preterm infants…

My daughter is 2 and im pregnant with daughter number two. I’m due 01/ 2020 and my first child turns 3 in 4/2020

My girls are 14 years apart. They couldn’t be any closer. My oldest spoils my youngest daughter to pieces. I am so thankful it worked out the way it did, because my oldest daughter got married this year on Christmas at 19. I would have been an empty nester if I wouldn’t have been blessed 6 years ago with my youngest daughter. I am glad it took me so long to conceive, because I don’t want to even think about the future when I actually do have an empty nest. It will be a sad time in my life. :heart: I struggled to bring both into the world. My first was 2 months early, and with my second it took me years to get pregnant. I had to take progesterone shots to keep me pregnant with my second. They are my two little miracles, and greatest blessings from God. :purple_heart:

Mine are 21months apart and 17 months apart they are 4,3,19months, hard work but I love it