Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

What was the favourite age of your dc?

59 replies

spottyhotwaterbottle · 30/03/2022 10:54

My dc is 8 and I'm really enjoying them. I did not like the baby years at all though. Wondering what's to come but enjoying everything now too.

OP posts:
happystory · 30/03/2022 11:52

4 - 5 with both of them...much easier to take out, on holiday etc, less fussy, slept well!

happystory · 30/03/2022 11:53

Oh and went to school some of the time 😉

eatthebickies · 30/03/2022 11:53

@Comedycook lol I think this too I really didn't enjoy it very much either I really missed just being able to bounce into the car when I wanted. I also remember really longing for a good rummage in primark when my son was in a buggy but literally every time we walked through the door he literally squealed at the top of his lungs.... I don't miss that lol

cptartapp · 30/03/2022 11:57

Primary school. Mine are 17 and 19 now and quite enjoying the later teenage years too.
Didn't really enjoy the first 12-18 months.

Imsittinginthekitchensink · 30/03/2022 12:00

Loved toddler age, so much fun. And age 9 was great, which surprised me, as y3-5 are my least favourite ages to teach.

Beees · 30/03/2022 12:01

@Comedycook

Those of you who enjoy the toddler years, you must be made of stronger stuff than me! When I see mums out and about with toddlers, all I think is thank god that's not me anymore!
This resonates so much except I'm the one with the toddler. He's definitely getting more enjoyable the older he gets and I can see myself slowly getting to the stage where I enjoying most days with him soon rather than enduring them.

Having worked with all ages from 2-11 I'm going to say 5 and 6 is the perfect mix of cuteness and independence.

I suspect those who love the baby and toddler stage have very large rose tinted glasses. Grin

lifeuphigh · 30/03/2022 12:02

Ages 1 and 2 for all 3 of mine, so far.

There are absolutely amazing things about the DC getting older - the chats I can have with my 8yo (my oldest) are so genuinely interesting now, and I love seeing her develop her passions, and it's so much fun sharing favourite books and songs and films with her, and we genuinely enjoy doing some of the same things.

But when they're toddlers... oh, they're just so sweet, and charming, and funny, and affectionate, and clever, and all round glorious.

takingmytimeonmyride · 30/03/2022 12:02

My favourite was when mine were 11 (but still at primary school) 8, 6 and 3. They were all adorable, they all got on well most of the time, and they were fun and inquisitive.

They are 23, 19, 17 and 14 now. All independent so I don't spend as much time with them. Of course it's lovely, but time has gone so fast, I'm sure it was only yesterday they were small and cute!

lifeuphigh · 30/03/2022 12:04

I suspect those who love the baby and toddler stage have very large rose tinted glasses.

Absolutely not. I'm literally just out of the toddler stage with my youngest.

worriedatthistime · 30/03/2022 12:04

Mine are 16 and 18 now but i loved the 4/5 year old stage
Toilet trained and able to get dressed etc but still so innocent and funny with the things they come out with and learning so much

Ringmaster27 · 30/03/2022 12:05

I’ve enjoyed every phase so far for different reasons. I’ve also downright hated parenting at certain points.
But my ultimate favourite is that tiny little window from birth to about a month old, where all you have to do is feed and snuggle a tiny, cuddly baby and the rest of the world just stops. It’s short lived, but definitely a delicious little window that I treasure

Beees · 30/03/2022 12:06

Absolutely not. I'm literally just out of the toddler stage with my youngest.

You must have had a different species of toddler to mine. Grin

IDidntFloatUpTheLaganInABubble · 30/03/2022 12:06

When one was 6 and the other was 3. They were the best times and I often wish I could go back to then.

RuthW · 30/03/2022 12:07

The older she got, the better she got. She's 25 now.

waterlego · 30/03/2022 12:08

Mine are 16 and 14 and I am loving this bit. They’re pretty independent and we can have some really good chats about all sorts of things. I don’t get as many cuddles as I used to, but I’m not hugely tactile so I can cope with that. DS gave me TWO spontaneous hugs on Mothers Day which was very nice 😂

I do feel nostalgic sometimes for the baby/toddler years, but in reality I was so tired and stressed and probably grumpy a lot of the time and I don’t miss that.

Ringmaster27 · 30/03/2022 12:10

Those of you who enjoy the toddler years, you must be made of stronger stuff than me! When I see mums out and about with toddlers, all I think is thank god that's not me anymore!
@Comedycook I’d say it’s very much dependant on the particular brand of toddler Grin
DC1 did all the usual “terrible 2’s” stuff, and yes, it was a stressful challenge.
DC2 has medical issues, that were life threatening during his baby and toddler years, so I spent that whole time hypervigillant and utterly terrified. So the toddler phase with him was the worst.
DC3 has so far been a very chilled, mellow toddler. Tantrums are few and far between, and I’m definitely enjoying this phase more than I did with the other 2.

VoodooBadger · 30/03/2022 12:16

I think 6-7 years is pretty good. They have some degree of independence, but still cute and lovable.

I liked the baby stage but it is hard work.

I really hated toddler/pre school stage with both kids.

8-12 is ok but they loose their cuteness and we had friendship drama and secondary school worries.

Teenagers are funny and interesting, but mentally draining and you worry about them even more somehow.

RoundGlass · 30/03/2022 12:16

I don't 'enjoy' under 8's very much. Loved the teenage years.

ThatPosterIsSoRight · 30/03/2022 12:18

Age 5. Still whacky and funny and cute, but no longer toddlers.

AHungryCaterpillar · 30/03/2022 12:25

suspect those who love the baby and toddler stage have very large rose tinted glasses. grin

Nope my youngest is only 4 so hardly years ago, I just find them cuter and sweeter when they are little, I’ve found they’ve got harder the older they get and I don’t really like teens at all, so dreading that, I find babies and toddlers cute and even when they are a handful the good outweighs the bad.

AHungryCaterpillar · 30/03/2022 12:26

And I also never found the baby stage hard, I loved it, when they was small and innocent, it was by far the easiest time for me. Everyone is different.

lifeuphigh · 30/03/2022 12:39

And I also never found the baby stage hard, I loved it, when they was small and innocent, it was by far the easiest time for me. Everyone is different.

Absolutely; though I prefer toddlers to babies, I didn't find the baby stage difficult as such. Though I was very tired! I used to work at a playgroup and I've honestly never met a toddler I didn't like.

NeneValleyGirl · 30/03/2022 12:43

Oh well, everyone’s kids as a toddler around 3 years old are just the most huggable, squidgy bundles of cuteness aren’t they!

Babies are boring, that time was just a chore.

Daughter changed around 10 years old. Less cuddles, less dependence. More anxieties.

Son always been positive and easygoing (gets that from me Grin )

Both are able to talk to me, and I listen to all the little stuff as well as the big stuff, and have never broken a promise to them, or let them down over commitments etc, so good trust groundwork was laid, and that’s paying off in their now young teenage years, which Im also finding enjoyable.

ThatsNotItAtAll · 30/03/2022 13:01

I think other people's expectations make the baby stage hard, as well as sleep deprivation. I found people expecting "a go" with my baby more stressful than any baby, toddler, child or teen. The little window from birth to a month which Ringmaster27 talks about was ruined by my mother coming to stay and expecting that to be her little window from 8am to 10pm while she scathingly made comments about my batch cooked bung in the oven meals being"too heavy" and wanting me to "pop out for some nice light bits", how I was "going to have to clean those floors sometime" and "you'd best get on while I'm here to hold the baby" ... all while I did all the night waking, she handed the baby back only when his nappy needed changing or I wrestled him off her to breastfeed, and I juggled my not quite 2 year old having just had a cesarean section. When I confronted her she cried and phoned my dad to bemoan my ingratitude and he called telling me about her heart of gold and asking me to apologise... Nothing changed. Couldn't kick her out early as she lives abroad.

I've never really forgiven her (or myself for letting my father emotionally blackmail me into letting her come and stay because he said she'd be heartbroken if I didn't want her to- I knew she'd be critical and no help but didn't know how bad it would be).

She wasn't the only one demanding that I share the newborn, and by dc3 acquaintances seemed to expect me to be happy to hand him over casually without a second thought and indeed be grateful to be rid - and be "chilled" if they handed him on to their 4 year olds to carry about (I wasn't). I was happy with my newborns in wrap slings and breastfeeding and never remotely wanted any "help" except obviously from DH (which isn't help but simply also being a parent obviously)!

Its much easier to enjoy your children when other people stop seeing them as cuddly toys/ photo opportunities and they can assert their own preferences for moving away from or towards relatives and friends!

Strokethefurrywall · 30/03/2022 13:18

I loved the baby years as individuals but I am loving parenting now - my boys are 10 & 8 and we've hit what we call the "golden years".

Kids are independent but so loving and want nothing but to hang out with us. They're curious, funny, interesting and easy to deal with.

Honestly I'd say now is my favorite because life is easy.