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Parenting

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Original poster

Please tell me all the best things about having a 4yo, 5yo or 6yo!

23 replies

Aranea · 10/05/2009 19:47

It's all so cute and funny up to about 3.... but tell me your favourite things about having an older child?

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Original poster

Aranea · 10/05/2009 20:00

Oh, god, isn't there anything?

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emkana · 10/05/2009 20:02

They're still cute and funny, but start to dress themselves and are less unpredictable!

FrankMustard · 10/05/2009 20:02

yes, there is!
I love their accounts of day-to-day life - sounds so much more exciting coming from a 4/5/6yr old.
They start to ask questions about the most amazing things they've thought of - like how eyeballs turn around and what would happen if cats had jet propelled paws etc.
I also like their attempts at jopkes - woefully unfunny to begin with, but they get there eventually!
why -are you having a hard time with your dcs at the moment (there are plenty of things hard work about this age too IME!)

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schneebly · 10/05/2009 20:02

Ooh yes of course there is! My boys are 4 and 5 and it is a lovely age They can wipe their own bottoms and everything!

Original poster

Aranea · 10/05/2009 20:09

Hm, there must be better stuff than efforts at getting dressed and wiping bums!

I do agree about the jokes and questions though, Frank!

I'm sort of feeling a bit nostalgic for the age when I didn't expect so much of her, I think. Then I never got cross and shouted. I seem to shout a lot now, so I was hoping for a shot of enthusiasm for the older child!

And it would be nice to feel there's good stuff to look forward to.

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schneebly · 10/05/2009 20:12

I sometimes think I expect too much of my DSs now.

I love watching them really interact with each other and other children as they get older. You know when they get past that whole 'playing alongside' thing?

schneebly · 10/05/2009 20:13

and I like watching their sense of empathy develop - that is lovely.

squeaver · 10/05/2009 20:15

Dd is 4.5 and I think this is the best age yet.

We have long, proper conversations.

She asks really interesting/odd/profound questions.

She can do all sorts of things by herself.

She has a properly defined personality (in all the shades of dark and light).

She's learning new stuff every day and can't wait to tell me about it.

She's absolutely brilliant with the younger siblings of her friends - their faces light up when they see her.

I'm going to genuinely miss her when she's in reception in September.

squeaver · 10/05/2009 20:16

Oh yes seeing them play together is fascinating and hilarious.

Original poster

Aranea · 10/05/2009 20:20

Yes that's true schneebly - I am beginning to feel proud of dd's social interactions, which is a pleasantly novel sensation!

And I am sometimes taken aback by her empathy.

Squeaver - your dd sounds great!

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squeaver · 10/05/2009 21:07

Believe me, I'm not always so nice about her

FrankMustard · 10/05/2009 22:06

Aranea - I personally think it just gets better and better as they get older! I have 4 dcs, all boys, and the conversation and understanding that you develop is just fantastic as they get older and get more interested in things. I love the fact that once they're this age, you get to really KNOW them as little individuals - they have their own quirks and ways of doing things, they know what they like, they tell you earnestly about what they've enjoyed and they have an incredible thirst for knowledge - even about the most bizarre things that adults wouldn't even think about! ds3 is 5 and bedtimes are when his mind really starts to whirr and the questions come flying out!
(He's still convinced he saw a jet propelled cat fly over the conservatory today even though we tried to tell him it was a big pigeon!)

Fennel · 10/05/2009 22:11

In my experience, 4-6 year olds are as funny and cute and cuddly as toddlers but with the huge benefit of being continent (generally), sleeping well, dressing themeslves, being able to walk a fair distance, not running into roads as soon as you turn your back, and not tantrumming all the time.
All the nice bits of the 2-4 age but a whole lot less of the bad bits.

And you can read more interesting books with them and watch more interesting films and have far more interesting chats. And they are easier to leave in childcare cos you can grill them on whetheer they actually like it.

Mine are 9,7, and just 5 now. It's really very pleasant.

notnowbernard · 10/05/2009 22:12

IME

By 4, they are over being 3 (which I found the most challenging age) Still cute, but a bit better at listening, and growing out of the stroppy-ness (sort of )

DD1 is 5.5 and I love this phase. She is just so eager to learn, is independent but still up for loads of cuddles, has a good sense of humour and is just more aware of what 'appropriate' behaviour is (not that I want her to be some compliant social robot or anything, but just that she knows how to behave in public now )

notnowbernard · 10/05/2009 22:12

Everything that Fennel said, really!

nickschick · 10/05/2009 22:18

I love when they are asleep all rosey chheked and sometimes even laugh whilst they dream

warm little hands curled around yours as you walk home

the excitement of a free gift in a comic

they will share sweets with you

cuddles in bed

half a slimy sweet they save for you

slimey wet collages dripping down the fridge door

you can curl up and watch a disney film together

they still love balloons especially with rice in

going around the shops is great cos they are easily pleased

the £1 shop is a glorious haven for them

they give you squishy snotty hugs and kisses

tiny shoes at the bottom of the stairs

you can go in the disney shop and not feel weird

boys can still dress as batman and girls can wear wings whenever they want

they play imaginatively with no DS or x box

they come to you early in the morning to 'snug up in bed with you'

everything they do is a great new thing

petting horses and stroking bunnies is still fun

they let you push them on the swings

if they are wearing wellies they can do anything

listening to them chat on the fone to nanny or an aunty you see they say just the same things you did.

you can still make everything right for them

snickersnack · 10/05/2009 22:20

I think 4 year olds are just amazing. dd is full of empathy for others, has really clearly defined interests that have just appeared from nowhere (maps, gardening, baking, football, to name just four), she is capable of entertaining her younger brother far more effectively than I am, and occasionally I get glimpses of the much bigger girl she'll turn into, and I like what I see. She threw her arms round me today and said "Mummy, you are my very best friend" and I had to agree with her.

I find young babies quite boring, toddlers are delightful but challenging and 3 year olds can be unbelievably frustrating and whiney. But 4 year olds rock - I've yet to meet a 4 year old I didn't warm to.

Original poster

Aranea · 10/05/2009 22:24

this is lovely

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norfolklass · 11/05/2009 15:17

My 4 year old is amazing and I love him more and more each day! I would gladly have missed out on all the baby days to keep him this age forever!

He is so happy and funny and every single thing is a joy to him whether it be riding his bike,playing in the garden/park or even going to the supermarket. Don't get me wrong he can have strops like the rest of them but most of the time he is a happy and inquistive little chap.

He literally talks all day and is constantly questioning why thins are as they are...makes you see life in a totally different light. He loves cuddles and snuggling up with me which he never used to do when he was smaller.

I think its a lovely age-full of fun and innocence befor they hit school...and yes Im dreading it. Im going to miss him so much!

Original poster

Aranea · 13/05/2009 09:52

Do you know, I think I am actually appreciating dd1 more now.

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WinkyWinkola · 13/05/2009 09:57

What a lovely thread.

yomellamoHelly · 13/05/2009 10:43

My 5.5 year old ds is fantastic. He's still finding out all about the world and constantly asks questions and makes observations and it's made me look afresh at so many things I'd not paid any attention to. He's also discovering his independence, but still needs lots of cuddles and love. He tells me I'm amazing for the little things I do with him or for him which makes me feel fab. He's super-creative and is constantly drawing and making stuff and generally wowing me with what he can do. And he makes me feel so proud with his reading and writing and how much he's learnt since he started school. And lastly it's great to start to see little glimpses of who he might be when he's grown and to try and guess how he might be by filling in the gaps (does that make sense?).

Original poster

Aranea · 15/05/2009 20:17

That's lovely, yomellamoHelly. You've all made me feel much more positive, thank you!!

DD1 is gorgeous really. She's very sensitive to others' feelings, asks odd questions, and is continually planning what she'll do when she is grown up. And she floats around in a little bubble of imagination most of the time.

I wish I didn't have to make her do anything by any specified time. If I never had to make her move faster than dreamy speed, it would be wonderful.

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