What age gap do your children have?

My kids are all with a 3 yr gap except for my #3 and #4 which was an accident. So what's the ideal age gap to have between children? The truth is there's no one-size-fits-all solution. It's up to you to work out what age gap suits your family best. What would an age gap of a year or less be like? Pros If you imagine your children growing up together and have enough energy to cope, you may decide that a small gap is ideal. It will probably be a busy few months and years. But you may enjoy having all the messy, noisy, tiring nappy years concentrated into one reasonably short period. Cons Having another baby before your first or youngest child is 18 months old is going to be hard work, especially to begin with. In fact, the early years may pass in a blur. It's likely to be an all-consuming experience of sleepless nights, nappies, breastfeeding, pureed food and laundry. This means you may not have as much time to enjoy your babies as you'd like. During those early years, you and your partner are likely to be exhausted with two little ones to care for at once. Your older child may not be sleeping through regularly by the time your new baby appears. He may only be having one daytime nap as well. You'll then have the demands of a baby and a child with different needs and routines at the same time. What would an age gap of two years or three years be like? Pros If you want to have time to enjoy each child's baby years, a two-year or three-year gap may suit you. By the time your second baby arrives you should have caught up on sleep. Your first child will have become increasingly independent too. Your first or youngest child may be out of nappies and be happily feeding and dressing himself. He may also be making his needs clear with a growing vocabulary. If so, you may have the energy to return to the world of sleepless nights, bottle-feeding or breastfeeding and umpteen changes of nappies and outfits a day. Your older child will probably be confident and secure enough in himself to welcome a new addition. And you can imagine how much he'll love taking on the important role of big brother and playing with his sibling. Cons Having this age gap is still going to mean a few years before your children want to play together. The games of a five-year-old are very different from the games of a two-year-old. You may find that your younger child is keen to join in, copying her sibling. But your older child may be less keen, especially when his little sister doesn't have the skills to join in and play fully. They may both get frustrated. However, once they're both a little older, these differences will even out. A seven-year-old and a 10-year-old could have lots of fun together, playing imaginatively and sharing games. As the world of your older child expands, your newborn has to fit in with his hectic social life. Your baby will probably need to come along when you take your toddler to playgroup, nursery or school. This may mean interrupted feeds and sleeps. Meanwhile, those baby activities you enjoyed with your firstborn aren't always possible with a lively preschooler in tow. And taking a baby along to toddler classes isn't always easy. You may be able to make it work if you've got childcare available. But you'll need to factor in these costs if friends or family aren't available to help.

All my 3 children are 3 years gap apart (no.3 is on the way). My elder one is quite independent when my second one is here. After baby has arrived, she is able to help me in taking care of the baby such as feeding milk and changing diapers. If the difference of age is too small, parents might find it overwhelmed to handle 2 babies. On the other hand, if the age gap is too wide, siblings will hardly play together as the interests will be totally different between them. http://sg.theasianparent.com/what-is-the-ideal-spacing-between-children/

Hi. I have 2kids my elder daughter is 6yr complete and my younger daughter is 8months complete . I'm happy with this age gap becz elder is can do everything by her slef like eating,bathing,dress up etc,,, she has feel like me carrying,loving,understanding,playing all like that. According to me 5yr gap is OK both baby's get love each other.

I've 4 children. The eldest is 18, the second is 17, the third is 15 and the fourth is 11. In general, all my four kids get along relatively well. Of course they fight as it's only natural to argue when you've siblings, but they make the atmosphere so lively especially when we are on holidays!

I have two boys, i had my first when i was 24 and he is now 12 years old. Im now 36 and this year in May i had my second boy whos now 6 months old next week. Didnt think i would ever have a second child let alone one 12 years after my first but i did and i wouldn't change it one bit

Exactly 3 years. It's quite good actually because at this age, I can send my tot to school and that leaves me some time to look after my baby in peace :-)

its 5 years gap between my 2 lovely daughters... my elder daughter is 6years old n younger is 1...😊

Hi, I have three kids. Two daughters and one son. My youngest daughter is 6, son, 7 and eldest daughter 9.

i have two daughters and they are born exactly 6 years apart, on the same day :)

I have two girls. They are 7years different. One is 11years and second is 4 years old