What age has been the hardest and the easiest ?

[kevanjosh]

And why?

For me, anything between 0 and 6 months. Was the hardest. Although the potato stage has its benefits (no defiance, power struggles, tantrums, relatively immobile), the lack of sleep obliterated my mental health.

My oldest is only 2y9m but I’d say so far between 1y and 1 and a half has been pretty fun

13 & 14 was the hardest & they weren’t easy toddlers/kids either.

I found 18m to 2yo tricky. Old enough to run amok and create chaos, too young to listen to reason.

Lots of people will say teens but mine have been pretty straightforward (oldest is 20yo now).

13-15 is the worst, by a long long way 😂 I found 3months-18 months, then 3-11 to be pure joy, also post 19 is working out very well these days

14 to 18 hardest and 30s easiest

So far? 0 to 26 years old has been the hardest. When the easiest comes, I'll pop back and update 😆

3.5-4.5 hell with both of mine.
0-1.5 easy and snuggly. No teens or 30s to compare. 5-6 is easy so far but not as easy as babywearing and snuggles.

I found the tiny baby bit the hardest with both. Then the teenage years, 15 to 19ish with both. Their problems get bigger but your resillience grows with them. I found life easier to manage once I coukd go to the toilet on my own and have a bath undisturbed.

Broken nights come back with a vengeance in the later teenage years. When they message you and say, "hi mum, I'm waiting for the night bus in Lewisham and have 2% charge". At that point you wish you were awake, listening to them howling in the cot.

The absolute worst time for me was when dd was 21. But I think there were special circumstances. Even without those circumstances though- the first time your child is in serious trouble and there is very little you can do to help is awful.

Can barely remember the baby stage now (youngest 11), but I do remember the terrible 2s with one but it kept going and at age 6 I remember asking another mum, are they not supposed to have quietened down by now? (He did about two years later!) My eldest was miserable in school when he got out into a different class to his friends age 16 and I worried so much for him, was terrifying seeing such a happy boy suddenly go quiet and retreat, luckily he came back (with board games, days out, loads of his favourite foods etc)

Mine are only 5 and 2 but so far anything baby, 1,2&3 have all been utter shit. Got better after about 4.

Hardest: 14-21 by a long way. Every time the phone rang my heart skipped a beat because I was worried one of them would have died. I didn't sleep properly for years.

Easiest : 12-18 months: sleep is better than newborn by then and they're smiley but haven't started to answer back or tantrum too bad. I think that's why most people have a 2-3 year age gap between their children because there's a sweet spot where you think "Oh this is lovely, I should have another one!"

The older my kids have got the harder they have become (all teens / preteens now)

I'd go back to the baby and toddler years in a heartbeat if I could.

Parenting teenagers is the hardest thing I've ever done and they're pretty good kids in general.

Yes the lack of sleep and juggling work and parenting was hard when they were young but nothing prepares you for the emotional rollercoaster of the teenage years! At least I can sleep and have a bath in peace now.

0 to 1 the hardest by a very long way.
6 to 21 the easiest.

8 years old to 12 years old are the easiest so far. They (both boys) are old enough to have interesting ideas of their own to talk about, old enough to go anywhere you might reasonably want to take them including more adult museums, galleries and restaurants, old enough that the board games, books, TV and movies they like are all fairly engaging for adults too. But no teenage angst yet. Loving it.

Easiest primary school - prob Y2-5 and 15-17 been quite nice for us too. They're mature, great conversations, great fun on holiday.

Hardest 2-4.5 (in terms of energy required - but also the most fun) and also 17-21 which we are in right now. Y13 is very difficult - exam stress, choosing uni courses and unis. Post school is hard if you don't go to uni, and probably post uni will be too, job hunting, navigating futures, 'proper' relationships, 'big' life stuff. It's hard to watch as a parent, allow them to make mistakes/ learn and yet know how much to be involved/ hands off.

This is also when some mental health issues are rearing their head but this could be at any point in teenage years (my niece was 14, my DS2's girlfriend 16, DS1 19+ - extremely emotionally challenging dealing with depression, anxiety, self harm, suicide attempts, eating disorders etc).

Sorry for the downer but it does get emotionally challenging the older they get. I'm sure at some point that settles down again!

0-1 the hardest, then 1-4. Also lovely, of course, but my god the lack of time and space just for myself did my head in.

Easiest? Probably teens. Yes, there's been plenty of drama, but it is so much easier when you have enough sleep and personal space.

With dd (first child) the newborn stage. And with ds the toddler years. Not hit the teen years yet though.