Age Gap Between Kids

The 5 year age gap between my daughters was not planned. I had a son in between my girls that passed away when he was only 17 day old.
The age gap between my girls however is perfect. My oldest went to kindergarten when my youngest was born so in way I got to give my youngest the same amount of attention that I gave my oldest. There has also never been any sibling rivalry between my girls. My oldest was like a second little mother to my youngest and one year my youngest even gave her big sister a "Mothers Day card". My daughter's are incredibly close despite the gap.

My sister was 2..5 years younger than I and we didn't play together much when we got older. We were different as night and day and weren't friends. You can't guarantee the relationship, regardless of age.

For eight years I was sure I was cut out to be the mother of two. After having two more I still believe I was cut out to be the mother of two.

O well

My kids are 3.5 years apart, and I LOVE it. I think it is a perfect gap. My oldest one was old enough to understand what was happening. He was really excited about his sister coming and really invested in her arrival. He is old enough to be really helpful with her. Like I can leave the room for a few minutes and know that he will either stop her or let me know if she is doing something she shouldn't. He takes her down slides at the park. He helps her in the car seat while I am driving.

Yet they are still close enough in age that they really enjoy each other. They dance and chase each other, jump together in the trampoline, swing side by side at the playground. Of course there are things that he likes to do that she is too little to understand, but I expect that would be the case even if they were only two years apart.

Conversely, my sister and I are 21 months apart, and I just felt we were right on top of each other all the time. She was always bugging me, and we fought constantly. I felt like we didn't really have space to be ourselves. It wasn't until we started going to different schools that we started getting along.

What it really comes down to is that you can only engineer so much with your children. They will get along or they won't, and I think ultimately the age gap won't be the determining factor.

The 9 year gap between my boys was not our choice. When the doctors tell you you'll never have another, you start to believe them.

The love and bond the two of them share is great. At 15 and 6 they still play together and the little one so looks up to his older brother. And the older one is a wonderful help with him.

I am blessed. Don't get hung up on the details. You may be surprised.

My two daughters are 4 years apart and though they are 14 and 10 they still play together! My sister and I are 3 years apart which I always thought was perfect, but now I think 4 years apart is perfect! I love the age difference with my girls! I just don't think I could have handled more than one child in diapers. My oldest is and always has been a great helper.

Not everyone gets to choose.
I've actually studied a lot of siblings and 3 years seems to be a really great gap.
Don't be fearful! He/she will be fine!

There's 5 1/2 years between my kids,we waited because we decided we didn't want kids close in age especially since we only wanted 2. And so far it's been perfect!! My son is so excited about his baby sister and has been the whole pregnancy. As far as playmates I have a brother whose 11years older then me and even though we never played when we were younger i am closer to him then my other 3 brothers.

Well I didn't choose to wait so long to have another, it just happened that way due to a failed marriage and a remarriage. I have a 20 year old daughter, and 8 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. The 8 and 2 year olds play pretty well together. I have two sisters, one who is 3 years younger than me and one that is 8 years younger. My sister who is 3 years younger than me, played all the time together. Now as I got older, I wanted to do things on my own with my own friends but that's normal for any kid. I wouldn't worry about the age gap. It'll all work out just fine. Good luck!

It's not always up to us. If it was, I'd have three kids by now, all under age 4.

my sister waited 10 years between sons and threw a stepdaughter in about 5 years after # 2 son... no one begged for sibs and they got along pretty well. Had a built in babysitter, when 10 year old got old enough!!! I WISH now I had waited some more years between kids. Its crazy in my house hold. 5, almost 3, and a 1 year old... its chaos here.

Our reason was because we weren't both ready for another at the time. I wanted another, but he said we should wait so we did. It worked out great too because our 3rd baby turned out to be twins and we had planned to have 4 children and have the last 2 one after the other so we didn't even have to do that. :o) BTW: The age gap is that our kids are 9,7, 2 and (of course) 2. The older kids were 6 and 4 when the babies were born.
Also: Don't be sad thinking they can't play together. All 4 of our children love playing together and they do so very well. :) Best Wishes.

My two oldest( girls) is 14 months apart. I always like the close age gap. Our 3rd child is 3 years YOUNGER than his older sister; 2 years from his second sister. Our son(our 3rd child) seem like he gets alone with both his sisters. They take their turns with one another. They are ALL very close to each other. Of course our older daughter seems like a little momma towards her other siblings. Our second daughter seem to be more loving and gentle with her brother but butt heads sometimes towards her sister.lol...

I really wanted a 4th,after our 3rd was born(kinda have them at least a year in a half or 2 apart) But was told to wait for at least 3 years to give my body time to heal. We are considering a 4th because its almost 3 years now,but worried about the 4th being 7 years apart from the oldest,6 years from the second to oldest and 4 years from the third. But I think they will all love each other no matter what age gap they are in.

My sister and I was 23 months apart and was never on the same page of things. My little brother and I are 4 in a half years apart and get alone more better than my sister and I. :)

It will work all out!!! :)

I have an 18 yr old son from a previous relationship. My hubby & I have a 7 yr old daughter & a 3 yr son together & they are 4 yrs apart to the day (I know what timing LOL). My oldest is very protective of my daughter & my youngest b/c they both have life threatening food allergies. My daughter & oldest don't always get along b/c she tries to mother him, is very bossy & just wants to know what her big brother is up to all the time. However, my oldest & youngest get along very well they both think the world of each other & my oldest thinks his baby brother is the coolest thing since sliced bread. My daughter & youngest do get along & play very well together but after awhile they do aggravate each other again w/the mothering & bossiness :0) They fight big, but they love big.

I have a younger brother we are 10 years apart & growing up I was spoiled, daddy's girl & loved being an only child when my brother was born I had to share that attention it was an adjustment for me but now we are closer than ever. Unfortunately, I live in Michigan & he lives in Texas if we're not texting we're talking on the phone if were not on the phone we're on facebook.

I decided to get married before having another kid, hence the 6 year difference between my two oldest. We didn't plan it this way, but it is nice that my oldest and his step-sister are the same age, so they have each other, and after my second child we had a surprise baby 22 months later, so the little guys have each other too.

I don't think that more than 3 years is really a big age gap, and he or she will just fall in with his or her older siblings. Kids get used to whatever their circumstances are - whatever they're born into is their normal, so he or she might enjoy having you more to him or herself when the older ones are in school, making his or her own friends, etc. Don't stress out about it, and good luck!

We had our first two 12 months and 5 days apart and they were a handful for me with my husband in college and working and he wanted to wait until ...whatever, everything was more settled etc. So our next one, 3rd one, was 6 years from the second one. It wasn't bad though as she was our first girl and two years later we had another girl and so they shared toys, room, etc. like the boys did. That's why we waited and then our others seemed to come in twos and were able to play and share things so maybe you could have one more to play with this 3rd one, and if not then he/she will be fine with the others as 3 years isn't that much really.

There is a 3.5 yr gap between my first and second. We waited until we felt ready for another one. My husband would have waited longer, but I didn't want more than 4 years between kids. My second and third are almost 4 yrs apart. #3 just kind of happened, so there was no plan. It just worked out that way! It works well for us. I always thought having them so close together would be too overwhelming, but I know lots of people who like to do it that way so their kids are close and they get the baby stage over with right away.

My first 3 were born within 4 years.... August 1982, April 1984, and August 1986. I didn't feel like doing anything "permanent", and just waited until we felt the time was right for another child.

Our 4th was born November 1991.

The first 3 were girls, and the 4th was a boy. As our doctor pointed out, he grew up with 4 moms! He got along just fine with the older two, but resisted when #3 told him to do things..... but her personality has always been a bit different than the older two.

It worked out just fine for us.....

I don't feel that 3 years difference is a big gap. My sister is 3 years younger than I am and we are very close, both as children and as adults. My brother is 4 years younger than my sister (meaning he's 7 years younger than me) and we're both close to him as well. When we were little we all 3 played together. Granted, I was 10 when he was 3 so playing meant he was the "baby" and I was the "mom" when we played "house." We did play together though.

My own children are far apart also. My husband was in the military when we had children so we got pregnant between deployments and training. My kids are currently 13, 9 and almost 4 (his birthday is in 2 weeks.) I didn't really want them to be so spread apart but we didn't have the opportunity, especially with the first two, for them to be closer in age. If your husband is in another state or country, it makes it really hard to get pregnant. ;-) I was worried, just like you, that they would be close and play together. They are though! All 3 kids play together every day. Yes, the oldest gets annoyed by the other two at times. That would happen regardless though. He's a teen! Haha!

I say don't worry about it. Some siblings get along and some don't, regardless of age.

My first two are 23 months apart. They grew up best buddies and still spend most of their time playing together. Due to fertility issues, we weren't able to have our 3rd when we wanted. So now I have a 3rd that is 7/5 years younger than her siblings. They love the baby, but are busy with school and activities. Once we realized there would be a large age gap, we agreed to try for a fourth. That way we'll have 2 sets of 2!

Do what works best for your family. Three years is not a big difference. My sister and I are three years apart and we got along ok as kids. The harder part I think will be that with three, there's often an "odd man out".

My husband and his brother are 15 months apart. They had a rough time getting along in childhood and they have not spoken for more than 7 years as adults. I have two younger brothers, one is 2 years younger the other is almost 8 years younger. I am much closer to my youngest brother and his wife than my brother that is closer to me in age. My point, gap does not guarantee closeness or playmate. Your youngest child may get along famously with your older two. Don't stress it.

It's not that big of a deal. My kids play together fine and there is about 3 1/2 years of spacing between each. Don't worry. It's hardly a noticeable gap except when it comes to clothes buying and which grade each child is in school.