Benefits Of Small Age Gap Between Your Children

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You would be surprised how soon after you’ve had your first child people will start asking you about the second one. It has probably crossed your mind too, and you and your partner have had long conversations in which you weighted pros and cons of having two children under the age of two. You already know it had its good and bad sides, but in the end we believe it would be a good idea for both you and your partner (and, of course, your first child as well).

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Being best friends

When they look back into their past one day, they will never remember being alone. They will always have their sibling around and they will feel like they have always been together. Almost like twins. What is more, there is a great chance of them being each other’s best friend in childhood and later on in life. They will have more or less the same friends, know the same people and take up the same activities as they grow. They will inspire and encourage each other and learn to love both their similarities and their differences.

Sharing toys

One of the best things about having children with small age gap is the choice of toys. They will learn to share and love the same things, again, even if one of them is a boy and another one a girl. If you had a boy first, it is likely that he will play with cars and action figures with his sister, and she will love his toys as well. On the other hand, if the older child is a girl, her brother will probably play house with her and use her dolls too. This is a great thing because it allows them to explore each other gender role and learn without being pressured to do so. They need their sibling to continue playing games and it is not likely that they will be mad at each other for a very long time because that means that they don’t have their playmate. If they still don’t want to share, that is ok too because they need some time for themselves as well.

Two-for-one and one-for-two

Your children will go through the same stages at approximately the same time, so you will be able to save some money on clothes. You can even have them wear matching clothes, making them look adorable at the same time. Given that younger will inherit most things from older child, you will not have to buy two of everything. At least at the beginning. 🙂 Same goes for baby gear, you will have them using most of it together. The only equipment you will not be able to use at the same time are crib and stroller. Problem with stroller (besides obvious it is for one baby:) is one f them being curios and more grown, while the other only needs to lie down and sleep. The solution can be buying another stroller or choosing the stroller for two, where one of them can sit facing forward and enjoying the view while the other one is comfortably asleep.

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A well-oiled machine

While it may be difficult at first to ‘make’ both your children take their naps at the same time, once you do that it will be a lot easier for everyone. You will inevitably become a well-oiled parenting machine who appears to be able to do everything at once. You will feed them at the same time, change their diapers faster, and have them take their baths together. After that, put them to sleep and try to have a couple of quiet minutes to congratulate yourself on a job well done. It will take a lot f time to get to this point, we assure you, but once you’re there, you will have more time for yourself. It will certainly be easier to take care of other baby while you are still in baby mode, and best thing is, once you get rid of diapers they are definitely gone.

The fact that your children are similar age can help your career and childcare options too. You will not have two breaks in your career, but one little longer and it is easier to arrange childcare for children of similar age.

Having a small age gap between your children has its downsides as well, but we firmly believe that the number of good things prevails. Most of all, we believe it will be good for your children to have a sibling who they will play with easily and understand better.

Image Credit: Flickr