To ask when children get fun

[mangobongo]

NC for this one!

Anywho, Just wondering when children become fun to take out. My 9 month old has a solid like 4 hours in a day where I can take her out and she'll be both well behaved and presentable,those hours are usually spent shopping and/or "doing coffee" with other mums or "retired parent visiting" with the odd swimming lesson thrown in. I can't wait to take her trampolining and horse riding and theme parks etc etc when do they get to the right age for that?

At the moment I love my time with her but I'm ready to go back to work because the day to day stuff is getting a bit fucking tedious to be honest!! Don't get me started on baby classes.... yawn!

Spose I should be thankful she's too young for the shudder soft play hellholes for now! So lighthearted AIBU to think babies are boring??

[Whizziwig]

About 4 or 5 for those sorts of activities. And that assumes you don't have a baby or toddler sibling in tow .

[mangobongo]

That's a good point,baby number 2 hopefully planned for when DD1 starts school so you might be right there. The cycle will never end!!

[NoFuckingRoomOnMyBroom]

Yeah probably 4-6 for interesting activities, possibly older. My rule for theme parks is when they're old enough to go on the big stuff so a while yet-in the mean time it's mine & DH adult annual thing

[mangobongo]

God so I have to wait another 3 years before things get really fun and I can stop doing mum coffee meet ups? At least I can say sorry I'm busy since I'll be at work again soon!

[meredintofpandiculation]

At some stage around 2 years you start being able to have conversations with them that aren't just about what they need or want. And from then on it just gets nicer and nicer.

Then in teenage years they start rejecting all your values and finding deeply uncool anything you suggest you might do together. But they make friends of their own, and bring those friends into your life, so that's lovely. And of course adult children bring a whole new set of rewards.

[Dozer]

For the stuff you mention 7+ IMO. Toddler and pre school years can be even more dull than the baby stage as DC are much more difficult and demanding, eg DC2 loved role playing cafes for many hours, which I hated!

But if you dislike current stuff try something else. I loved the creche at my local leisure centre when on mat leave as could do exercise and get a DC free hour!

[WunWun]

When my DD was 9 months she wouldn't even consider letting me sit down in a cafe for even five minutes without whinging or crying.

[JudgeRulesNutterButter]

Beware the mistake you may make: starting all over again with DC2 just when DC1 was starting to get fun. We have a 3 year age gap exactly and it felt like our lives took a massive step backwards.

Obviously there are other pros/cons to pretty much any age gap, but if this is a priority for you, you might want to consider a small gap and getting the boring stage over with sooner!

[Oysterbabe]

They do get more interesting before then. My just turned 2 year old cracks me up, she's so much fun.

[WunWun]

She has been going to a trampoline place and theme parks since four and has always loved them both though.

[m0therofdragons]

I think from 4. My dtds are 6 and dd1 is 9 and I'm loving this age. I think I enjoy each stage but am often unknowingly ready for the next bit. I love watching their characters grow and I'm looking forward to hanging with them as teens (which seems weird to anyone I mention it to who tell me teens with 3 dds will be hell. My dad always says he loved the cute ages but teens were much more fun for him.

[ThursdayLastWeek]

Babies are boring. But small children arent more fun IME, they can just moan at you the whole fucking time while you do something you thought would be nice

[Alittleconcerned1980]

4 and 7
Soft play is bloody brilliant
I bring the paper, kick back with a coffee

[Urubu]

I second JudgeRulesNutterButter 's point.
We have 3.5yo DT and whilst the first year was basically survival mode, now we keep saying to eachother how nice it is now that we can do so many things with them that we wouldn't be able to if we had had one and then waited 2-3y for the second, which was our plan initially.

[Oooocrikeyitscold]

I would say 2, you take them tobplay groups/soft play: play parks and they love it.

I here you on 9 months-I loves my son but he was friggin boring! His almost 3 now and so much fun!

[Didiusfalco]

I think it gets worse before it get better. Your immobile 9 month baby is much easier to do things with than an 18 month old who won’t sit still in a cafe, wants to get out the pushchair when you’re at the shops but then doesn’t want to walk. I had a revelation when my 2.5 yr old sat for half an hour in a cafe and I got to finish my drink the other day ( to be fair she is much more active than dc1 who was better at sitting still) She’s also a load of fun now she is chatting but not in terms of the activities you’re thinking of.

I have friends who found this tough who have just had the one dc. It’s definitely given them the right life balance and their dc is lovely, has a great time and close relationship with cousins - you don’t have to have two.

[vwlphb]

My two are 3.5 and 5 and they are great fun now. What’s even better is that they play together brilliantly as well, so life is so much easier in general. The 18-month gap sucked for the first year but things just got better and better after that.

[Slanetylor]

2 year olds are great craic!! Not so much for the big days out you're talking about. But more the " LOOK AT THAT BIRD!!! ITS FLYING!!!!" Everything is new and exciting and fun at that age. ( between the fighting and tantrums and them decidingthey hate everything you like).

[Whizziwig]

Just wait for the several happy mind-numbingly boring years you have ahead of you at the park! Luckily DH enjoys taking mine to the park so I get out of it.

Mine were lovely and cuddly as toddlers and pre-schoolers though, which makes up for the boring stuff.

[paperandpaint]

Depends what you consider fun! I love toddlers as you can do lots of imaginary play, craft, art, cooking and outdoorsy stuff. I suppose it depends what you are into. To me theme parks are HELL on earth!!

Just don't wish each stage away. I now have a 17 year old who is very independent and I miss her being little so much! I do have a 9 month old too so luckily I get to do it all again and perhaps appreciate it in ways that I perhaps didn't when I was much younger. That said I went back to work part-time this week and loved hanging out with grown ups again - having a baby is wonderful but bloody lonely sometimes.

And yes to never having a coffee out in peace again. I was just thinking fondly about the early baby days when DS would sleep for hours in his pram thus allowing me to while away my maternity leave drinking coffee and reading books in various coffee shops - no chance now!!

[ladyvimes]

Enjoy your mum coffee dates. My dd was walking at 9 months - there was no way she’d sit still so I could go for coffee!

[mangobongo]

I would love a closer age gap but have a very stubborn DH who wants one at school before we try for the next. Hmph. Unfortunately I can't make the next one without him so I have to obey for now

Ok maybe I just need to find a naice soft play! How old do they need to be for soft play? Crawling?

[corythatwas]

It really depends on how you are with them doing the activity. Patient or impatient, perfectionist or laidback. Also will depend on their personalities.

My nephew was taken sailing from a very young age and by age 2 insisted on holding the tiller: he is now a better sailor than his dad.

Same dad also took him inter-railing the length of Europe at age 2. Obviously, it was a different experience from if he'd been 11, but as far as I can make out extremely rewarding for both of them.

My brothers and I were all put on skis from age 3. My nieces went horse-riding from maybe 5 or so.

But no reason you couldn't do things like hill-walking now provided you have the proper gear.

[Eltonjohnssyrup]

My 18 MOs are fun to muck around with. Like flying then through the air and banging pans. They have proper personality.

[corythatwas]

Also places like museums and art galleries can be great fun with toddlers- if you enjoy story-telling and don't have preconceptions about what you have to see. Walks in the wood are actually better with a toddler (might have to go and borrow one from somewhere...) because they see such different things. And other simple things, like going on a train.