The only thing I agree with is that 3 sucks the worst. My three year old has been such an asshole today. I am actually considering taking some shots of vodka. I personally think it gets better once they turn 4 and 5 has been the best age yet. I feel like it will keep getting better until puberty and then take a nose dive.
It think this is very child and very parent dependent.
Every age has it's own set of rewards- the delight in a kid expressing themselves, watching a child have the aha! moment when they crack the code of reading, watching them find their own unique talents, sharing the things that made your own childhood special, and take steps toward real independence in the form of their driver's licence, first paycheck and college acceptance letters.
When they're little, teething keeps you up. When they're older, driving does.
I enjoyed something of every stage, I really liked the intermediate grades and DS as a teenager.
I'm really enjoying my 1 year old, but I hope it's not all downhill from here! My mom says each stage was her favorite until kindergarten and then it was pretty stagnant after that.
Post by Queen Mamadala on Jul 7, 2015 20:00:37 GMT -5
I honestly have enjoyed every stage with dd1, and enjoyed 12+ months with dd2. I didn't experience any particularly difficult stage after the first year with either. Now with my son, my favorite was 0-18 months. 2 was okay, 3 was god-awful, and 4 only slightly better. 5 has been okay. He was by far my easiest baby, but my most spirited and strong-willed after 18 months or so.
I've only experienced through 5 years, but this is my ranking of them:
1 (actually 6-18 months) 5 2 4 0 3
E is starting to become awesome again. But it's been a rough couple of years. And O, at 3.5, is in the thick of it. I am so looking forward to having 6 and 8 year olds.
I'd say that I really haven't hated 3 and we're half way to 4. I'd probably put 2 above 3 though since he was a little more compliant and didn't require negotiations on so much. I really loved 1 though.
Post by jeaniebueller on Jul 8, 2015 7:24:00 GMT -5
I am rolling my eyes at the "it never gets easier!!!11!!!!" mentality. Yes, challenges become different as kids get older, but as far as I can tell 6.5 years into this whole parenting gig, it does get easier.
I think it gets easier the older they get (so far). I hated being sleep deprived and my kid didn't sttn until 2.5 yrs, so it's really been better since then. 1 was so hard. I will never forget when I had to be a bridesmaid and brought dd to the wedding. She swiped the brides lip liner and stuck it in a heating vent, RAN up cement stairs, and tried to eat pebbles. She was trying to kill herself on a daily basis and it was so stressful. I can deal with 3 yr old tantrums much better. I think it also helps that I have years of experience babysitting and teaching toddlers so I've learned a lot of techniques. Babies were new to me.
Ages 6-12 are considered the "golden years of parenthood" according to many child psychologists, so I'm guessing (most) kids do become easier by age 5+. My DS1 will be 6 in August, and I would say he is becoming pretty easy. We of course have our struggles, but overall he is a delight to be with and really does want to please. I would much rather take him out for errands alone than my almost 3-year-old.
I read something somewhere about how new experiences always seem more challenging. That's why so many say that their second baby was easier, or they enjoyed the baby stage more the second time around. It's not necessarily that the second baby is easier to care for, it's that the parent(s) have already gone through the infant stage and therefore feel more comfortable with it/know what to do/know it will pass. So you might find older ages hard simply because you haven't mastered the challenges older kids present yet.