Do your children have a 4-5 year age gap?

[Postwhisk]

I really want a second baby but my life situation plus the covid vaccine timing means by the time we try and (hopefully) fall pregnant there will be a 4 year age gap and that’s if we fall pregnant right away.

Is it worth bothering as sibling would be so first born isn’t on their own.
Or is 4 to 5 years too big of a gap for them to be close?

What are your experiences of this age gap?

DD1 is 15 and DD2 is 11 and they get on very well. They are four school years apart. Obviously they do bicker and fall out at times as all siblings do but they have a great relationship. With any age gap it's a bit of pot luck whether their personalities will compliment one another. My two are actually quite different and in some ways, opposites but it's a contrast that works, somehow. Obviously parenting helps to a degree - encouraging kindness and fairness.

The only downside was perhaps trying to find say, summer holiday activities for them both to do together when they were younger as they were always in different age bands. But it a way it was quite nice for them to be independent of each other and do their own things.

I have this age gap between my children as do several of the families of the children mine go to school with. It's fairly common. And actually not unusual to have much bigger age gaps either.

It's fine. One is a teenager whilst the other is still primary age and they're at different stages in life at the moment. They don't spend huge amounts of time together just at the moment but they get on fine. I have a similar age gap between me and my closest sibling and we weren't close at that stage either but as adults we have always been very very close.

They might be close or they might not. But that could also be the case even if they were only a year apart. Don't be put off by worrying about the age gap.

It was the perfect age gap for me! 4.5 years between my girls which meant the eldest was starting school while littlest was tiny which was very handy!

They are 16 and almost 12 now and have a lovely relationship.

My 2 have a 4 yr 7mth age gap and get along fine. They are almost 2 and 6 and they play together and spend time together. 6yo reads to 2yo and 2yo likes to copy whatever 6yo does. They do bicker but it’s usually over quickly.

There is 4 years 8 months between mine and IMO it's the perfect gap.

DC1 is 4 1/2, DC2 is 7 weeks...it's going great so far...! Eldest is helpful, fetching nappies, etc, and is besotted, loves looking in cot, kissing, playing peekaboo. I'm sure the novelty will wear off!

Also helps that DC1 can go to toilet on their own and get themselves dressed. I think there's a lot to be said for a bigger age gap!