What age bracket do you find the hardest?

[fruitysmoothie]

I'm finding that the 3-4 age group is massively hard... backchat, constant talk, attitude, answering back, whining, asking for things ALL the time, purposely doing things they aren't supposed to be....

I love my DD to pieces but my goodness things have got hard!

[lottieandmia]

For me, it would definitely be 18 months to 3 years!

[CremeEggThief]

10-11 was challenging, but 13-14 is the hardest so far. I teach early years children and I've had over 40 4 and 5 year olds on the carpet together before, all as good as gold for me. Teenager DS is much harder work than a whole Nursery or Reception class!

[Dementedswan]

Mine are 6 and 5 and been right little sods lately. The back chat and relentless arguing are driving me up the wall. I much preferred them when they were younger and think wistfully of the days I could stuck them in the pram and head to the shops when it all got a bit much.

[Mol1628]

All of it for different reasons but I think the worst time was when my first was a newborn. My whole life changed and I was so depressed and he never slept. Now he sleeps through but he constantly argues with me and that is mentally exhausting
My second has been a lot easier, hardest time with him so far has been when he was about 10-14 months when he wanted to walk and play etc but was a bit too young. Now he can play and watches tv so it's easier.

[OddBoots]

10months to about 2.5years. Mine were just bundles of frustration at this stage as they wanted to do things their body just wouldn't do.

They are teenagers now, life is sooooo much easier.

[SisterViktorine]

For me the gap between walking and talking- so maybe 14 months to 24 months in our case.

So far 4+ has been great. 6.2 now.

[JeepersMcoy]

Babies are tedious and exhausting and I just can't get on with them. I have found the older dd gets the easier and more enjoyable I find it. Now she is 4.5 and so much better and more fun (even if the whining does make me want to cut my ears off).

[cloudyday99]

Newborn, definitely. I can cope with whatever they throw at me an awful lot better if I've had a good night's sleep.

Teens are hard too, but in a completely different way that feels like there's no rule book for. But they do let you have lie ins.

[neversleepagain]

I have twins and the first 12 months were a loving hell. I loved 12 months to 2.5

There was a turning point at 2.8 (I remember it clearly as we had just got back from holiday) and from then until now (4.1) it has been awful. I am so fed up at the moment.

[BertrandRussell]

My dd is nearly 21 and I have wept, worried and insomniaced more over her in the past 18 months than in the rest of her life........

[Jecan]

11 & 12 hasn't been fun with dc1 & dc2 but dc1 was instantly better after her 13th birthday and has remained so. Fingers crossed dc2 does the same. Still got dc3 to get to through that stage

[fruitysmoothie]

Neversleepagain - have some

[AmaDablam]

Heartening to see so many others saying 3-4 years as that's where we are with dd now, and it's definitely the hardest age yet! There was also a brief stage around 4-6 months that I found really tough, I think because I felt it should be getting easier by now, but instead I was almost as sleep deprived as when she was newborn and had a fractious velcro baby for much of the time.

I know OP didn't ask for the best stage but fwiw, I loved 9ish months to 2 years. Every day seemed to bring about a new development or discovery, there was no answering back or wilful disobedience and we seemed to have sleeping cracked (sadly it regressed around 2nd birthday and she's still waking most nights at 3.3)

[MrsJayy]

Bertrand my dd2 is 18 and im finding it difficult with her atm her sister was fine by then .

[Luckystar1]

I have an 11 week old and a just turned 2 year old.

DS was a very difficult baby (or at least I found him so!) so I have loved it as he has got older. DD has yet to show her true colours 😂

From observing friend's children and the children who I think look exhausting while out, they're always 3! So I'm going to say 3 year olds!

[mymilkshakes00]

Definitely 12 months to 3 years old.

[WackyWalrus]

From moving (crawling) to about 18m.

Constantly on the go but just permanantly doing stupid things or falling down stairs etc etc

[AmberEars]

For me, things got easier as soon as they hit 3! I found the hardest stage around 18m to 2 and a half - old enough to be 'naughty' but not old enough to reason with.

[poppym12]

13 onwards. At 17, it's getting worse.

[hellsbells99]

17-19! Dealing with alcohol, parties, boyfriends, exams, applying to uni, leaving home, homesickness, stress etc.
The easy years were 3-14

[fruitysmoothie]

I'm with all the 3,4 and 5 crew!