Do you miss your child/ren when they were little?

[Blueskies3]

I hear lots of people say when they have adult children that they miss their children from when they are little. They would leave their present day to go back. A friend also wants to have a third baby to stay in the little kids bubble for longer.

For those that have grown children do you feel like this?

I’ve loved every stage, I enjoy them now at 25 and 23 what’s the point in looking back. I love the people they’ve grown into and can’t wait to see what they do next.

I miss them sometimes. I often picture my 2 blonde sons freshly bathed in their pyjamas sat on the sofa with a bowl of maltesers waiting for Dr Who to start and I get a pang of nostalgia. I miss bath and bedtime stories, it’s something I must have done every night for about 9 years, it was entrenched. Also my parents were alive, I was younger, weekends were jam packed with early starts to various matches, it all seemed so wholesome. However I did worry about them, would they reach their potential, would they be happy, would they be safe. They are both adults now living their lives to the full and I miss them. Until my youngest comes home from uni like a whirlwind of chaos. They were adorable toddlers but they still are.

I feel the same. Had a third baby (to reduce the risk of me being an over investigated grandparent if I get to be one!) as I just loved it all so much. Would have had a fourth if I had realised how much I would love having kids and we’d started a family earlier.

I don't miss the early days, no. That's not to say I didn't enjoy them or that I have any bad feeling about those years, it's just I'm a black and white thinker and struggle with time that isn't here and now. So while I treasure the memories I have of those times, I'm not able to imagine living them any more, in the same way I can't imagine the future. What I do have is a good relationship with all of my children and a huge sense of pride that I got it mostly right.

This was my experience too. We had our struggles with their dad being inconsistent but our little bubble was secure and lovely.
They adored each other and were such gentle little chaps.
Now, at 18 and 22, life has thrown them too many curve balls, and they are struggling. They don’t get along with each other though they are each close with me independently.
We still have our lovely moments but if I could turn back the clock to playing ‘Mama’s Restaurant’ at tea time and sleepovers in each others bedrooms in the den they built, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

There's always going to be bits you miss. I don't really miss me as a parent at that stage, but I do miss the fact I was the centre of someone's universe for a while.

Also my friend's chunky wee four year old hurled himself on me for a hug at the weekend, and I miss that. DS would rather hug a spider than his mother!

I have grown up children in their 20s and a 6 and 4 year old and it is lovely doing it all over again but absolutely exhausting as I'm 20 plus more years older too than last time! My ds started school in sept and it was a little sad knowing this was my last ever first day at school.

I have thought this recently actually. My youngest is 18 and my oldest is 25. The oldest is navigating some really tricky life curveballs atm and I keep thinking about when she was 7 or 8 and feeling really really emotional 😢

This is lovely. I hope I can be the same

I do find they’re almost like an onion in reverse! You start off with the centre and interesting layers get added on top.

LOVE that!!

plus somedays they make you cry.

Works on so many levels.

Not at all! Love having all the hugs and squishes (mine are still very affectionate) but they can put themselves to bed, usually after me.

I do have a very selective nostalgia for when mine were little and I keep reminding myself that it's a selective thing where I focus on the cute parts and none of the hard bits.

On a more practical level I'm not always great socially and I really enjoyed all the getting together with mums and kids the same age at stuff like groups or the park. Now we are more likely to be taking our kids to different extracurriculars and honestly while I still feel joy in my kids I'm not enjoying this stage as much as just rambling around the park in a group.

Yes. I wish I could go back and spend more time with them, instead of worrying about other things.

Mine are both adults in their early 20s and I love them to bits just as they are, but I do sometimes yearn for their little selves. Snuggling on the sofa or sitting on my lap or just laughing about daft, silly, small child stuff.

Then I remember how exhausting they were with the endless questions, the struggles to get them to go to bed, to eat the right food, not stick their fingers in plug sockets, decorate the walls with crayons, going to the park for the eleventy millionth time etc etc etc and I feel less nostalgic.

It is fleeting moments for me, well remembered and treasured in my mind.

Yes I miss my little kids and how much they were my world and I was theirs. I miss being able to fix everything for them and make them happy so easily. I always wanted to be a mum and I'm a bit sad my time as a mum to little ones is over. But saying that I'm incredibly grateful to see my children as strong independent confident adults they've become. My youngest had some medical issues then mental health issues in her teen years which meant at times I didn't know if she would make it to adulthood. I know not everyone gets to see their children grow up and I will always be thankful .

Some lovely stories and ways of looking at things here. Going to give my babies a massive "duddle" when they wake up.

I don't think I do, although I did have a pang last night when I was going out and saw all the little ones trick or treating. Then again, l think that might be rose tinted glasses as I don't think I particularly enjoyed it!

I had lots of children though and spent, like 16 years with babies and toddlers, so I really did a long stint in those years. (I worked out I did school runs for 23 years!).

I love having teens and adult children though - they're so interesting and funny.

I miss how snuggly she was as a little one, even though at the time I sometimes felt smothered by her need to be on or near me all the time.
She went through a phase of saying she hated physical contact of any kind when her father was still around because she didn't know how else to get him to stop putting his arms around her without consent.

It took a while for the hugs to come back and I'm so grateful they have.

Watching videos of my little ones when they were even littler as I was breastfeeding tonight and I really felt it!

Mine is 28 and my heart aches for the gorgeous little child I had. I love them so much, but they've got their own life and partner now.

Mine are early teens and no, I do not miss the early years - that was the hardest time of my life.

Yes I do! I said that only the other day to my husband!!!

100%%!!
Mine are adults now living their own lives and I've give anything for them to be little again. 😭