AIBU to think two kids are easier than one?

[tapenade70]

Dont they entertain one another? When i have DSDs age 6 and 7 with my baby they keep him entertained it is way easier. When we are on our own (he is 9 mths) it is much harder. Was thinking another one will make things easier? I know this is contrary to the 2 under two nightmare that people talk about!

HAHAHAHAA no two isn't easier than one. It might be better when they are old enough to entertain each other but you have to get them to that stage.

I think certain things are harder and certain things are easier.

I have 2 boys with a 20 month age gap, and while they can fight, they also get along really well and it's great that they always have someone to play with.

It's strange when you have one child out as it's so quiet!

I wouldn't change it though and I am glad I have 2 children.

It's not easier, just different.

10year gap between my two and it is easier with the oldest to help play with the toddler so I can shower, go to the toilet, make lunch etc.
Depends on your kids personalities though, DS1 was very full on as a younger child and it would have been hell with him as a toddler and a newborn to look after - hence the large age gap

Ds1 provided entertainment for ds2 from birth (2 year age gap). Having said that, I only found 2 as easy as 1 after the first 2 years.

Two is easier than one.

I often volunteer to look after friends children rather than just have one at home.

Two keep each other entertained to a large degree, obviously depends on the personalities but I do find two much easier than one.

I'll let you know in a few weeks!

Tell me it's not more than twice as hard!!! How is that even possible??Aaaagghh!

Mine entertain each other by bickering, screaming and enacting extreme violence on each other. Tis a joy to behold

I have a 3 year age gap between mine and when DD2 was a baby it was hell - trying to schedule feeds round nursery runs, trying to stop DD1 from manhandling DD2, dealing with tantrums while dealing with baby, pushing a pram and manhandling a toddler who was a bolter. Now they are older at 8 and 5 they get on great (mostly) and entertain each other and it has got easier now they are both at school.

My two dc are 17 months apart.

Yes it's quieter with one not around but OP with one they want to talk to you and keep talking about minecraft and crap. Least when they're both together they talk to each other. I have more peace with both of them at home then if ones at a friends ect.

Well, my two play together which is nice. That doesn't mean its easier though. Practically, two is more work - twice all the day to day work of one despite the benefit of them play together sometimes (not always + arguing a fair bit). I find they compete for our attention too which is hard and makes me sad when I can't give my all to either of them. 1:1 time is rare and a challenge. Its all wonderful - I love my 2 monkeys but it IS a lot more work than one was.

We've got four. One was a lot easier than two. We had one for a long time with no sibs, that was easy. Then two close togther, that was mental and the fourth one wasn't much more work as we were at capacity!

It depends on the child but if they are good at entertaining themselves one is far far easier because they can't fight with themselves.

It probably depends on so many factors. I have a friend who had two boys very close in age, and then one much younger boy (10-11 years younger than the older boys). She has said on many occasions that the second time around was much more difficult. The older boys played together and entertained each other from an early age, while the youngest didn't have a constant companion and needed to be entertained much more. She said if she'd known it would be like that, she'd have had a fourth child just so the little one would have someone to play with! But of course, it might not have worked out that way. Maybe she was lucky that the first two boys were such close friends from the very start.

2.5years between my two DS. OP it depends on when you think they will entertain each other. In the beginning it is certainly not easier. A full on toddler and a baby is a huge amount of work. Sleepless nights with a baby early non stop days with a toddler plus all the a baby demands on top. I envolved my toddler with as much as possible but the novelty for him soon wore off, and as soon as I just managed to sit down to breast feed he would suddenly need attention not always intentionally. As a pp said a good Baby carrier is essential!
As my DS have grown they can fight like cat and dog. But I am glad they have each other.
Oh and one more nightmare scenario I hated was when ds1 started school the pick up time clashed with ds2 afternoon nap. But if didn't he sleep I still ended up with the same tired grouchy child that wouldn't walk be or be carried to the school without screaming all the way and would wriggle out of the push chair straps put his feet down trying to stop it been pushed whilst screaming.
Same time every day for nearly a full school year.

It just depends! Depends entirely on the nature of your kids. I look at bigger families than mine and they all seem to get on and help each other. I have ds and Ds with 16.5 months between them. The only easy bit is that theoretically they should be able to do the same things at same time making days out and holidays easier (when they are not knocking lumps out of each other or arguing). E.g. If we all go to a water park then it's easier because they both can swim and are at the same level. I don't need to watch a baby, mind a toddler or worry about a teenager being bored all at once

Just to say about the day time nap it just happen like that at that age I couldn't get him to sleep before that time and if I tried to make it later I still had the tired tantrums

Yes they can entertain each other at times, however, just as frequently (if not more) they will fight, bicker, whine, tell tales on each other and (worst of all) wake each other up when you've just got the other one to fecking sleep!!

I don't think there's much in it personally.

Ahahahahaha no. A 6 and 7 year old might be an asset in entertaining a baby but I bet when they were a baby/toddler themselves they were a LOT of work. It's harder work simply seeing to two childrens' needs (including two sets of illnesses, night wakings etc) and also if they are close in age they tend to like the same sorts of toys etc (hence lots and lots of fighting).

Don't want to put you off... I have twins, they're nearly 3, and they're really funny together and have a lot of fun. But I am a wreck

yes there is always the risk of twins...that is putting OH off quite a bit. 5 kids would be quite extreme...!

Two are not easier than one, really. I've never understood that. We had an age gap of 16 mo and now that they are 4 and 5 they are still blooming hard work, although are great at keeping each other entertained.

I found 2 better, rather than easier. Ds2 was certainly more content as a baby/toddler as he had ds1's antics to entertain him! Also, crucially, I was more chilled and relaxed as a parent.

They're 15 and 17 now (22 month age gap) and mostly get on well; we've had periods where they constantly argue and fight, but generally I'd rather there were two of them than just one.

My two are easier together, now the youngest is 4, that first year after dc2 was born was hellish though, a baby and a toddler are serious work.

Every child is different - two could be easier and two could be harder - depends on what type of child the stork chooses to bless you with

My personal experience was less than idealic - we refer to the first 3 years as "the dark years" and my friend refers to the same period as "the nuclear winter"

Mine are 23 months apart (8 and 10) so I can't really remember what it was like to only have one. They do entertain each other lots, share interests, like the same sorts of days out, have been at the same school for a long time now (it's harder when they are doing different things during the day). However there are 4 people's tastes in food to cater for, 4 lots of laundry, 2 lots of homework, 2 different and busy after school schedules, potential for two to be ill at once (don't think that's ever really happened, though they have had things one after another).

I don't remember it being all that hard in the early days either, but maybe that's faded with time. Pretty well all the other mums I am friends with (ante-natal class therefore DCs all the same age) had another baby around the two year mark, so it just seemed normal. I'm very glad I had two and very glad they were born so close together.

I might have felt differently about the early years if the eldest DC had still been waking at night when the second was born, but he was a good sleeper (eating's another story!)