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Home › Articles › Considering Pregnancy › The Art and Science of Child Spacing

The Art and Science of Child Spacing

How Far Apart Should Siblings Be?

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But if a second pregnancy takes you by surprise, it can be exhausting. Cheryl, 33, describes herself as "a mom with a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old who has been awake for the past 6 months." She warns, "If you are thinking of having your children be less than 2 years apart, don't do it! You will never have a moment to yourself!"

If you make it through the tough times and come out alive, most veteran moms of close-in-age kids agree you'll be happy. "Now that our boys are ages 3 and 5, we really see the impact of our decision," Margaret says. "They are best buddies. They play together famously. They attend the same preschool/kindergarten and help each other in their mixed-ages Montessori classroom."

Some moms see another benefit to spacing children close together: "I simply didn't want to have any children after I was 33," Lisa says. "Perhaps it's selfish, but I don't want teens or college-aged children in my home when I'm retirement aged."

Further Apart
Parents who choose to space their children further apart have different issues. Although Sheri, mom of five, didn't make a conscious decision about child spacing, she has witnessed its effects firsthand. "The biggest space is between the first and the second (2 years, 7 months). The others are all less than 2 years apart. One thing I noticed is that there is far less sibling rivalry between the younger four than there is between the oldest and any or all of them."


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