Why does time go so fast once you have kids…

[Rememberthatcharlesandeddiesong]

And it feels like there’s barely any time to do anything?

I mean, we only have one dc, 5 and I feel like since we had her, time flies by. The year goes by much more quickly and there’s barely any time to do things we used to..but the time is still there, if that makes sense. It all feels so packed and full. I mean, I enjoy it, but also miss the slower pace and the things we did.
What’s the reason for the time suddenly hurtling ahead when you have kids?

I think partially, time would have sped up in the same way without kids. Every year is a smaller percentage of your life than the one before (you know how when you’re 1, 1 year is 100% of your life. When you’re 30, it’s 1/30th of your life).

Also time flies when you’re having fun 😃

Also yes I think the busy-ness of kids just makes time fly.

The days are long but the years are so so short!

It's a good question. It certainly flies by. We had DS at 40 and i think being older has made it fly by even quicker. It's like we turn around and suddenly he's nearly 10 and we're 50. When he was really little I wrote all the important milestones and other snippets in diaries which I'll probably never get around to reading. I was obsessed with recording as much as I could.

You don't need to have had kids. I'm really not sure how we got to 2023 from 2007 in only about three years.

I was thinking this the other day. Once you have kids time just seems to go so much quicker, especially when they are in school

I think it’s partly being older and partly how busy you always are. Before kids I had lots of stretches of weekend and lots of evenings when I just didn’t have anything to do and I could potter. I never really potter now! And time never goes as quickly as it does between say 7.30 and 8am when you have to leave the house…

Dd is 21 months and I swear she was born yesterday. Time is a thief.

I seem to have no time. And when I do have any there’s an avalanche of housework, admin, etc etc… As for the weekend!

Daughter turning 3 in January and I feel like I'm still 'a brand new mum'.

My husband tonight said to me 'I feel like we're not old enough to have a child.' 😂😂 we're 34!

@phewgal I feel like that and my youngest is 18 and I'm not far off retirement 🤣

I think the year is more segmented especially once they start school so you work through it in terms and that seems to make the time go faster.

Plus always having things planned to do and work towards.

I think the school year makes it feel faster, like there’s always something coming up - back to school, harvest festival, half term, Halloween, bonfire night, Remembrance Sunday, Christmas, valentines, half term, etc etc and then it’s the summer holidays and another year is over.

It was definitely a much slower pace when Dd was a baby/toddler, although when I look back it feels it’s gone quickly.
I just want life to just slow down a bit, if that makes sense? Even just weekdays seem to go so quickly now, it’s weird

I think as soon as you hit 18 time starts flying

Me and DH are always saying that to each other. We see people on TV who are way younger than us (we’re 33 and 36) and they look like proper full grown ups. I don’t understand time 😄 like how do I have an 8 year old when I feel like a clueless 18 year old? 😄

Dh and I realised recently that there’s no need to hate Mondays anymore, as it’ll be Friday again in a second.

I feel the same. With ds1 it felt like his first year of life lasted ages (COVID lockdowns probably), ds2 is now 8 months old and his first 8 months have felt like a few weeks! It's mental how fast time goes now and quite scary. 2018 feels like just last year...

Have you thought about getting her to put her own socks on a few more times a day? I find that a very effective way to make time slow almost to a halt with kids around.

When you're 80 you have breakfast every ten minutes.

I don't have kids but time is flying the past few years, I feel like since the Covid lockdowns, the days feel a few hours long, the months feel so short - Christmas will be here and gone in a blink...

@WhereIstand Yes, it might not be having kids, it could be since the lockdowns as I agree, time before then when my Dd was very young didn’t fly and I felt more relaxed.
So why on earth does time feel like it’s going more quickly since lockdown?? I wonder what the reason is for this? So interesting

My ds turns 18 this Sunday.
This time 18 years ago I was starting labour and it literally feels like it was just a few years ago.
I wish I could go back to when my dc were little. I would drink in every single moment, tantrums and all.
It’s flown by.

Do you miss them being little? Is it harder now that they are older?

@Blueskies3 My Dd Is 5 now, I definitely miss her being smaller, but never felt time went this quickly, just in general

I read something the other day which mentioned about it being the 24th year of this century and I thought, blimey, were nearly quarter of the way through already. I still think the 90's were 10 years ago.

I find having a school age child is what really makes time fly. By the time you get back into the swing of a new term with various clubs, activities etc, you blink and then realise you need to sort childcare for the next holiday. The summer hols come by in a flash which you think are going to drag but then they're over in an instant and it all starts again.

Also, there is more structure when you have DC. Pre-children, time not working was an open book (with chores to be accommodate). Now it's more regimented with nursey / school/ homework / clubs/ sports / uniforms / parties / play dates etc, etc.