Age Gaps in Children

My kids are 10.5 yrs apart and im so glad I waited so long! They have each gotten individual attention and my son was old enough to not be jealous and all that. I never could of handled 2 little ones! For my sanity, a decade was the perfect amount of time! They adore each other. She waits for her big brother everyday!

My son Leo, is 9 and 10 years apart.I do feel more cons, he is 7 and a pain in the butt for my teenagers,he feels left out all the time.It was nice in the beginning,my kids watched him being born and were fascinated at first....
My daughter 16, knows now, how hard it is to raise a child, which I hope makes her wait a little while to have her own children.
I'm more tired, than I was in my 20ties...I was more active with the older kids, but also it is kind of nice to have him, when the older kids go of to college soon.I think I should have not waited that long, but I'm glad I had him.

Mine are 6 1/2 years apart. My son liked having a baby sister. He helped me ALOT. She was born in the summer and when he started school again she was only a couple weeks old. He was glad to show her off at school. Now they are 11 and 4. He has his days when he cant stand to be around her but other times he loves to show her games he plays on the computer or he will read a book to her. Some times if he hasnt seen her much (activities on the weekends that keep them apart, after school activies etc.) he actually misses her. He has also been very helpful when I have been busy, sick, or in the shower etc. He will fix her a drink or even play games with her that he is way to old for. They do have moments when they fight like crazy. She is very good at pushing his buttons. He has managed to say a few words that I dont like that she has picked up. ( stupid, freak, frick etc.) Things he has picked up at school. I ve had to tell him why he cant use those words and then have to explain that two a 4 year old who adores him and wants to do everything he does. We did plan to have one in between them but for financial reasons at the time it just was not possible. Im glad they are as far apart as they are.

My son was born on my daughters 9th birthday....she mothered him....and helped me so much. When she became a teenager....he pestered her alot and they have alot of fond memories that they laugh about now. On Dec. 19th she will be 39 and he will be 30....I liked it this way...just like having 2 only children!

I have the opposite of K's Mom, with my daughter older than my son. She is right that a 7yo girl would want a baby versus a 7yo boy wanting one. My daughter specifically asked for an annoying little brother. That's what she got! Our children's age gap is due to miscarriages though, not planned out that way.

At turns they do get along. Sometimes they annoy each other. It fascinates me how the younger one can demonstrate jealousy, though It took me a while to realize what he was doing. I would start a conversation with my daughter and it would take me a few moments to realize my son had started to hum or sing or the like. He's gotten much better though. He had to. He's had to put up with, not just one older sibling, but many many 'cause I have been a GS troop leader since before he was born.

A benefit of the age gap is that sometimes its like each is an only child and has our full attention, as the other child has some activity away from the family. Another benefit is that the older one is a built in babysitter, although see note above-we have to book her time so she doesn't run off socializing! The younger one strives to behave/be treated like the older one although this has to be managed properly. We don't give our younger one the same privileges as the older one but we can certainly use his desire for 'equal treatment' to elicit more grown up behavior from him.

Our kids are 6 years apart. When she was born, he didnt care. A 6 yr old boy doesnt really want a baby ,, he wanted a dump truck. If she had been first, and we had him 2nd, I think it might have been different. A 6 yr old girl would LOVE to have a baby in the house, for a while. Ours were somewhat indifferent to eachother for the first 4 or 5 years, and then they fought a lot. She was always bugging him, and he was always teasing her. Now they are 28 and 34 and best buddies. They talk all the time on their phones, they text probably daily, They go on weekend trips, and to concerts and movies, and dinners. They are best friends for the most part. He is really excited that he is an Uncle to her daughter and she wishes he would find someone nice and have kids so she could be an Aunt. We had them this far apart only because of miscarriages. We would have liked them 2 years or so apart and might have gone on to have a couple more, but it just didnt work out that way. So, it is what it is and you work with what you get.

My kids are 13, 8 and 4. i kinda wish they were closer in age so maybe they would be friends.....the 8 and 4 year old play together alot, but the 13 year old only sometimes does. My oldest used to love helping with my middle, but when the youngest was born he wasnt interested. All in all I think they are ok the way the ages are.

My 2 youngest are 7 yrs apart. For us & our families situation , it has worked out. I think there are pros & cons to any age difference & arguments for both.

I have a 16 year old, an 11 year old and a 4 year old.

My children are very close to one and other. The 16 year old still manages to spend time with his two younger siblings. I think that there are days when my youngest irritates his sister ( the 11 year old) but that does not detract from the fact that she does also play very well with him, is helpful and loves him a lot.

I would not change the space between them at all. I have enjoyed the kids very much and felt like because of the age differences it has allowed me to have time to appreciate each child at every stage.

I know my daughter would loved to have had a sister, and I think my oldest son would have liked to have had a brother closer to his age from time to time...but as they get older I see them continuing to be close. But not me...I am very happy with the way it all turned out.

My first and secound are 3 years apart. My third came when when #1 was almost 8 and #2 was almost 5. They are so good with their baby brother who is 19 months. They play with him and will get him something if I am tied up and can't. My oldest can actually put the baby in the carseat properly but he is a huge helper and loves to do so. I am currently 6 months pregnant and my two babies will be 23 months or less apart. I am glad my current baby will have a playmate. I was worried about him not having a buddy like his brothers have each other and when I unexpectedly ended up prego. I am glad my kids are all as far apart as they are though. Not sure if I will feel that way with a demanding 2 year old and a newborn though.....

Updated

My first and secound are 3 years apart. My third came when when #1 was almost 8 and #2 was almost 5. They are so good with their baby brother who is 19 months. They play with him and will get him something if I am tied up and can't. My oldest can actually put the baby in the carseat properly but he is a huge helper and loves to do so. I am currently 6 months pregnant and my two babies will be 23 months or less apart. I am glad my current baby will have a playmate. I was worried about him not having a buddy like his brothers have each other and when I unexpectedly ended up prego. I am glad my kids are all as far apart as they are though. Not sure if I will feel that way with a demanding 2 year old and a newborn though.....

My first three were each two years apart. Then we had our last one nine years later. My only regret is that the youngest doesn't have a sibling to play with like the older ones. They had each other. He may end up being more like an only child once the others leave the nest. Yes, the older ones play with their little brother but it is not the same as having sibling closer in age to play with. He misses out on that unfortunately.

I have two groups of kids. All the same dad by the way. They are 23, 21, 12, and 10. They two oldest are best friends and the two youngest are on track to be the same. The dynamic between the older set and the younger set is more paternal and maternal than sibling. The younger two have often been confused as to why there are different levels of freedom between them and their older sibs since they are in fact sibs.

If I were given a magic wand I would go back and have them closer together.

I have that age gap...my oldest is 16 and my second is 10. I chose to have them like that for a couple of reasons. The first was because I was in school away from my family (they lived in one town and I went by myself to another to college) and we felt that it was important that I finish and more children would have made that impossible. Once I finished school we waited until we had a house. Then we had our second. They do pretty well at relating to each other, but then again they are opposite genders. My oldest is a girl and our second is a boy. I am happy that they are like that, but I sometimes regret that there is soo much space between them. I have since gone on to have children that are much closer in age and they do better at playing with each other.I have 7 children and the rest of the children are on average 2 yrs apart. I sometimes feel like I have 2 families. My oldest (as the only child) and then the rest of the family. Sometimes it is hard to include everyone in a family activity because in order to include the littlest ones my oldest will feel so left out. If I had to go back and do it again.....I am not sure I would have waited so long to have more children.

My daughter's oldest children are 8 and 11. Her youngest is 7 months. It's working out really well, so far. The older ones love, love, love the baby and want to help most of the time. The 11 yo is a good helper.

When my third was born my 2 boys were 8 & 5 working on 6 in a few months.
They get alone great! Sure they have their typical sibling battles but they're no different then ones close together. My first 2 are just shy of 3 years apart.
I don't think I would have survived had they been closer together honestly. I am glad they are not closer in age.
It works out wonderfully!

LOL..... I have a HUGE gap in my kids, but it wasn't planned, and it works out great. WE have 2 biological kids, who are now ages 18 and 21. They are both girls, and the BEST of friends. Then, we also have 2 younger kids, who are not our biological kids, but are our nephew and niece. We are their Mom and Dad though, and have had them for 6 1/2 years. They are now 10 and almost 9. Our younger 2 look up to and adore the older 2. It's almost like having 2 more Moms, only the older 2 never had the responsibility of being Mom. The older 2 will take their younger siblings out to do things, BY CHOICE because they WANT to, and they also do it to help me out from time to time. The older 2 are very protective of the younger 2, and actually my 10 yr old son is protective of all 3 of his sisters. He checks out any guy that the older sisters bring home, and has to give his "approval" The older girls actually want his opinion too. LOL! I am a very lucky Mom though, and I know how different this could have been. When we decided to "take in" the 2 little ones who at the time were 2 and almost 4, we sat down and asked our girls how they felt. We explained what it would mean and how the choice would change their lives. (good and bad) We decided as a family to move forward and have the 2 younger kids join our family, and because we included our girls in the decision, I think it made a world of difference.
Now....... that being said, my older 2 are both out of high school and are in college now, so I would be an "empty nester" by this point if I had all of my kids around the same age. Hmmm. I am not sure if I am really ready for empty nest, but the idea of having a day off here and there IS enticing. LOL! I guess the only real drawback I can see is the length of time we will be parenting, and then the fact that we will probably not get much of a break between parenting and being grandparents (someday) so that would be rough. I do really look forward to having some alone time with just the hubby and me. Well, maybe someday...............................

My 1st & 4th will be 81/2 yrs apart I really hadn't imagined that till your question but he will be such a great big sibling as he is with his other 2.But as far as the 6+ age gap with all of them I had them close well not bam bam but 3 yrs,then 22 months,now 3 yrs again them being at these ages hasn't bothered me a bit

I only have two kids...my daughter is almost 20yrs old and my little prince just turned 3 yrs old. They get along really good, my son is very close to his sister. He actually looks up to her more than he does to me or his dad. We are all happy he came along after all them years of having my daughter.