Most and least favourite age of children so far?

[Lelophants]

Most: 7-9 months was fun for us. I also liked 2 months. Exhausting but easy in sense of feed, sleep on me, nappy, repeat. Still new.

Worst: 5 months was hell. Around 11 months was pretty awful too.

What fun/horrors do I have to come?

Favourite ever is 3-5 year olds
Love newborns too; the cuddles and the smell of them, but not the PND, sore boobs , exhaustion and sleepless nights .

Not keen on 12-18 months. Relentless.

Ugh😭 teens and the 1% battery. Always, always at the worst time.

Teen struggles continue here. Trying to help her find something she’d lost and got ‘go away, stop stressing me out, you make it worse’🤷🏼‍♀️

From the child who’d run to me when l met her at the end of school.

And I’m going to say something controversial here. We have 3 others who are older. All boys, they hardly caused a ripple. But dd.....😱😨

Dd1 was a delight from birth to 3, and then very moany grumpy and temperamental for probably the next 10 years. She was then ok for a couple of years, but turned grumpy again when lockdown hit. She’s now 16 and swings between being lovely and evil.

Dd2 never slept so the baby days were pretty tough. But she’s been an easy going child and is generally good company. She’s 13 now and still easy going.

My absolute favourite stage for them both was probably 15 months to around 3. They’re such funny little characters and learning so much every day. I really loves teaching them all about the world.

Worst:
3w - 8w sleeping less and more colicky and hard to settle or entertain.
8y - mini adolescence; a bit of eye-rolling and friendship politics, a bit smug and sly
15y - full blown adolescence with empathy and intellect still immature
Best:
3m - 8m - still gorgeous squidgy babies but smiling and interacting. Mine cheered up immensely once they could sit up.
2.5 y- 5y - proper little people you can have conversations with but who have a sense of wonder and experience such joy at small things like being pushed on a swing. They still have dimples instead of knuckles!
18+ - I seriously underestimated how wonderful having adult children is.

@BogRollBOGOF

I repeat the word "toddlers" until any broody urges pass.

Babies are fine until roughly 12m. 4+ gets better. Made it up to 10 so far.

Please tell me that the teenage years can not be as bad as a fustrated toddler with a limited vocabulary and undiagnosed ASD. At least I'll be able to walk out of the house and leave the teenager alone rather than having to battle him into clothes every time I need to leave the house. The other toddler was better but was nicknamed Ussain Bolt with good reason. 18m to 3 was his danger zone, but it over lapped entirely with DS1's terrible twos from 10m to 5.

Every child is different but my eldest did not speak till 7. Very frustrated and has asd diagnosis. He had a very rough few years from 9-14 and stuff but is 16 now and is starting to get much calmer and is a pleasure to be around.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Ugh😭 teens and the 1% battery. Always, always at the worst time.

Teen struggles continue here. Trying to help her find something she’d lost and got ‘go away, stop stressing me out, you make it worse’🤷🏼‍♀️

From the child who’d run to me when l met her at the end of school.

And I’m going to say something controversial here. We have 3 others who are older. All boys, they hardly caused a ripple. But dd.....😱😨

Ah this is how I feel right now. My dd cant bare to be around me. :(

Neither can mine. She just glares. So wearing. It’s like being on trial without knowing what you’ve done. Bit like the Spanish Inquistion really😁

Her absolute classic was when our clothes shopping in the distant days before lockdown ‘stop showing me things’ but I’m not allowed to just stand there. I have to sort of look engaged, alert and interested at all time without actually being allowed to do anything......

I went to Starbucks and left her arguing with herself.

DS is 7 so I've got no experience with teens yet. Favourite age is now! Least favourite age was 2/3, toddlers are the hardest work imo.

I am a childminder, tend to find 10-14months, the last term before starting school, year 2, year 6 (the last term before high school) and year 9 the hardest and 2-3 years, reception, year 5, year 7 and year 10 the nicest

Worst = under 18
Best = over 18

Eldest is almost 11, youngest is 6 months.

3-4 was difficult. Wilful, demanding, often tantrumming over ridiculous things.

My DD is 9 and just starting puberty and let’s just say, I can tell we’re in for a fun few years!

Easiest, probably 0-2. I’ve had fairly easy babies and toddlers so appreciate I’m lucky.

0-11 = all lovely, give or take a few blips

11-14 = things start to get more tricky once they start high school

14-18 = all hell breaks loose. They're still children but you have no, or very little, control over what they do.

I liked around 7-8. Old enough to show some common sense and don't need constant watching. Young enough to still think you're OK and to be excited about trips out etc (remember those?).

Teenage years actually were good too. I liked having their friends around and chatting to them. I miss that now they're both gone.

Worst so far 0-1 hated the baby stage. Still have nightmares about it.
Best - everything from 2 onwards (dd now 7).
I would have more kids if only thhey arrived aged 2!

Ds1 was an absolutely amazing baby. Slept well, ate well, had lots of baby chub that was just sooo pinchable.
Then he turned three and was an absolute horror until about seven. School were looking into having him assessed for ADHD at one point as his behaviour was unmanageable at times. However, he then started calming down and at 10 is actually a nice person to be around! We regularly Minecraft together too.
Ds2 - was a funny looking baby who never slept and constantly threw up. He broke me. His toddlerhood was packed with hour long meltdowns that happened every day.
Then he turned three, worked out how to sleep, use the potty and talk coherently. I was actually sad (privately) when he turned four as I missed my mad little lad running round going "I'm fweeee!"
He's still a sweet lad at six.
So as far as my two go, the ages are the exact opposites.

I love my teen! 15yo and this is definitely the easiest age yet (controversial I know!)

Best 18 months - 3

Worst 3-5 years

Eldest is 12, but youngest only 2.5 so I may change my mind!

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Ugh😭 teens and the 1% battery. Always, always at the worst time.

Teen struggles continue here. Trying to help her find something she’d lost and got ‘go away, stop stressing me out, you make it worse’🤷🏼‍♀️

From the child who’d run to me when l met her at the end of school.

And I’m going to say something controversial here. We have 3 others who are older. All boys, they hardly caused a ripple. But dd.....😱😨

It's interesting about teen girls. Mine is a nightmare currently (she has lots of good qualities too). And the teen girls of my friends generally seem to be a much more "lively" presence in their homes than their sons. A massive generalisation I know. I wonder if this is because girls are so socialised to conform, be "nice", think of others, look pretty, blah blah when they are children, that once adolescence hits they are f*ING enraged .

Or, more seriously, it's more of a "fight" for girls emotionally and intellectually to separate yourself off and become your own individual person; whereas boys are more accepted for just being who they are? Dunno. Teen suicide rates ATM would suggest otherwise although rates for teen girls are rising rapidly now too.

The point is that adolescence can be very hard for them, as well as for us, and of course mental health services for teens are scandalously poor: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/suicides-teenage-girls-young-women-rise-figures-a9698296.html.

[Sorry to be maudlin but it's on my mind ATM with so many teens suffering under lockdown.

HATED newborn and young baby stage with a burning passion

12 months onwards is awesome (son is 3 now)

Having a lockdown baby is dreadful. I wouldn't have had her when I did if only I'd have known!

Best: 15+ but I know we might have just been lucky with DS1, the other two haven't reached that yet!
Worst: 2/3, especially with DD, some days I still wonder how I managed to keep up with her

18, 13, and 11 now.

I have a 20 year old and a 6 month old.
The 20 year old has always been fabulous, the 6 month old is wonderful too. But I had forgotten what a killer the sleep deprivation is and so I'll go with 1-20 as my favourite years!

@MummytoArthur Are you not bored in lockdown? I have an eight month-old (and a 10 and 13 yo) and I'm going out of my mind!
What do you do in the day?

The newborn bit was far, far the worst. I obviously loved the dc but they did not sleep. Breastfeeding hurt. I just wanted 5 minjtes that someone wasn't touching me. It was awful.

The dc are 9 and 7 (8 tomorrow) and we are in wonderland. They are good company, helpful and don't need constant supervision. They get on well. It's bloody brilliant!

5 of them . Babies - all nightmares . Never slept !
Love all ages after that .
Really love my teens - they’re so funny !