When to Have the Second Child: Tips on Spacing Siblings
How long should you wait before having your second baby? What age gap fosters the closest relationship between siblings? What’s best for mom and dad?
Parents often agonize about when to have the next child. And no wonder. One of the biggest factors affecting family life is the age difference between children.
Obviously it’s hard to time your second child’s arrival exactly. But it is worth considering the advantages and disadvantages of different spacing scenarios.
Here’s what you need to know to plan your family:
*Three years apart is considered optimal. The consensus among experts is that three years between kids is the best spacing for both children and parents. It gives the first child a chance to get established emotionally and provides parents enough time to gather their wits before the second arrives.
*Close spacing is hard early on. Parents with kids less than three years apart in age have to deal with two tots in diapers, two throwing tantrums and two wiggling out of their car seats. It’s a phase – however, it’s a long and often stressful one.
*Close spacing pays off later. Kids close in age tend to have the same interests, schedules and friends, making them easy to manage as they grow. They can go to bed at the same time, watch the same movies and go to the same school. Read more…