What is the best age gap between children?

Question

I have a 4 year old daughter who starts full time school this sept, and a 7 month old son.

I would love another baby but dont want to leave the gap inbetween my son and the next baby too long.

What is a good age gap to have between babies?

Im lucky as I dont have to work at the moment!

Answer 1

I heard child psychologists say no more than a 5 year gap between children, otherwise they may not bond.

Answer 2

not 6.5 years ill tell you that.

my bro and i are that far apart and i have no life with a gap this big, becasue i ahve to watch him... for free of course

Answer 3

I would say 2 years.  Get one of the babies potty trained and walking before trying for another.

Answer 4

It really doesn't matter about age gaps,there is no right gap. I have four grown children. Ages are 27,26,25 and 20. Where as my sister has three at 26,21 and seven! Have them when you want them.

Answer 5

IMHO (remember I am a mere man) I think about 2 yrs. Ideally you'll have one comming out of diapers as the new one arrives.

Answer 6

I would say 2 yrs ....I have a 5yrs age gap between mine and that doesn't work they are always at war :(

Answer 7

Yeesh, there's no perfect answer to this question.  My sister is  4 yrs older than me and my brother is 3 years younger.  We all fought a great deal as kids but as adults (ages 24, 27-me, and 31) we're all very, very close.  We have 2 other older brothers, with whom we're not close. but that's doesn't matter here.  Life wasn't perfect growing up by any stretch of the imagination, but being able to relate to each other now matters so much more than differences we had as children.  A lot of people might feel like they never want their children to grow up, but I know my parents' feel that watching us cultivate real grown relationships with each other that made all of the youthful bickering worthwhile.  

I suppose I wouldn't recommend spacing them out too far. It might not be easy when they're young,but it pays off.

Answer 8

I thought I wanted 3 years before I had another but the world had other plans heeheh and they will be max 14 months apart it will be hard work but I think of the pros that go along ..

I will be able to return to full time work quicker as as soon as the youngest is in school. they will grow up together and hopefully be friends. fingers crossed heheh

good luck and congrats on your two already

Answer 9

my kids are less then 2 years apart and i am not planning on having one for a while but i think 3 years a good age gap. i think mines are too close it was harder when my second was just born but now that they are older its good because they can play together and are into alot of the same things.

Answer 10

Well I'm 15 and my only sibling ( a big brother ) is 5 years older then me.

It's a good age gap and up until a couple of months ago, i was happy with it but now i would have liked my mum to have had another child after me ( my brothers moving out ! )

Answer 11

I think you should go with whatever suits your family. My kids are 23,18, 8 and 6. With the first two the oldest was in school before I had another baby. I found this the easiest to deal with because I had plenty of time to spend with the new baby. They have always been close even now. The second two are 17 months apart. For the first three years I thought I died and went to h**l. Juggling the needs of two babies really wore me down. They don't get on at all and are always competing and bickering. Everyone will tell you something different. Just don't bite off more than you can chew!

Answer 12

me and my sis are 2 yrs 10 mts apart, and i always thought that was perfect because we are seperate, but we can still have fun together as teenagers and such. (she is 15 im 17)

also we can go to the same school for about 1-2 years.. not too long not too short.

Answer 13

I think 2-4 years. So you can spend as much of the baby time with each baby! Then move on to another baby!

Answer 14

When you find the magic answer, lemme know!

No age gap is a "good age" gap. There are some people who find it easy to have their kids close together, 1-4yrs and their children get along wonderfully. There are some who find if difficult and their children don't let along at all. There are some people who enjou having their kids far apart in age, 8-10+yrs and their children get along...and vice versa.

Age gaps don't garentee anything. It really all depends on YOU. Do you want your kids close together? Do you want to have one in middle school, one in elem school and one in pre-school? Are you looking foward to them all being out of the house? Do you want your 7m to be potty trained before you have another baby? Able to do things on his own? Does it not matter? etc.

I have pretty much every gap going with my kids...2yrs, 4yrs, 3.5yrs and *18ms between the four and I have and baby #5 who is due in Feb. In my opinon, I think 2-4yrs is great. Never have 2 "babies" in the house at one time.

Best Wishes =]

Answer 15

Wait until he is at least 18 months. If any sooner you won't be able to give the older one as much attention he/she needs. I think the best age gap is 3 years. I like to watch one child grow up at a time and give them all te attention they need when they are little.

Ages of my children:

Sean - 15

Julia - 12

Justin - 12

Maya - 7

Ian - 4

and I am pregnant again with a baby boy. Complete surprise!!!

Answer 16

me and my brother are 8 and a half years apart. i hate it! i wish he was older. like at least 6 yrs younger. i think between 2 and 4 years is good.

ill be 20 and h**l still only be 12!

Answer 17

I have 7 children.The oldest is 21 and the youngest is 9. The smallest age gap is 14 months and the largest 2yrs 7 months.

I have to say that the 14 month gap was the most fun! It was lovely having teh two of them close together and there were so many things they could share.

Nature will space your kids with about a 2 year gap between them if you breast feed fully as I did for about a year until baby has had enough. I think nature is the best spacer !

Some people have talked about certain age gaps leading to fighting. My experience is that kids will fight with their nearest sibling whatever the gap unless you are very lucky ( My youngest three fight rarely)! They do pull round and become friends in their mid teens!

Answer 18

well, im 21 and a mum of 2. My son is 2 and my daughter is 8 month. Dont get me wrong it can be hard but not as hard as people make out. I think they a nice gap between them. They sit and laugh at eachother, play on and basically keep eachother company. Alot of people thought we would have to becaefull as 1 or the other would get jelous but they have proven everyone wrong. Its unreal how much they love and idolise one another. Go for it now. the experience is brilliant, trust me