do you wish kids took more or fewer years to raise?

[Anonymous]

Randomly pondering tonight if I wish kids only took 10 years to raise to adulthood. That'd leave so much time for really focusing on my career again afterwards before i've been written off as too old.

Do you wish it took 10 years to raise a kid? 30? or is 18 right?

(yes i realize kids still need parenting after 18, but i'm taking that as the age where if all goes well, they are out of your house and day to day)

[Anonymous]

No idea but 6/7-8/9 is a sweet spot. Interesting, snuggly, sweet, independent ... I could have kids this age for a few years and enjoy it.

I ADORE toddlers but raising them to exhausting.

[Anonymous]

up until about 8 I wished fewer. Now at 10 pleading for time to slow down!

[Anonymous]

More. Oldest is 8. Hard to believe this is it.

[Anonymous]

I love kids during the elementary years. Wish that lasted like 5 years longer.

[Anonymous]

Both, somehow. I wish the hard parts didn’t tire me out so much that I can feel myself sometimes missing good moments. I wish I could go back and visit them at different ages, it would be like reconnecting with old friends.

[Anonymous]

More.

When they were 3, I thought it would never end.

But my 15yo is now in 10th grade and I can't believe he only has two years left at home! So many things I still want to do as a family. Teen years go by too fast.

[Anonymous]

You're not really raising them much after 10 or 12 years or so.

Sure, you are still PROVIDING for them and GUIDING them but the raising was done in those first 10 or so years.

If you didn't get it right during this time, then you'll probably need additional time to raise them but that's your fault.

[Anonymous]

I wish it was longer. My kids are 8 and 6 and I’m already dreading them going off to college…it just goes by way too fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More.

When they were 3, I thought it would never end.

But my 15yo is now in 10th grade and I can't believe he only has two years left at home! So many things I still want to do as a family. Teen years go by too fast.

Absolutely this.

[Anonymous]

LONGER

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're not really raising them much after 10 or 12 years or so.

Sure, you are still PROVIDING for them and GUIDING them but the raising was done in those first 10 or so years.

If you didn't get it right during this time, then you'll probably need additional time to raise them but that's your fault.

You don't stop raising your kids at 10-12.

[Anonymous]

I wish shorter... My 7 year old while sweet at times is a boundary pusher, always trying to negotiate out of things. It gets exhausting as a daily grind as the years go on. However my 3 yo is sweet and generally compliant (at age 3, she is easier to manage than my 7yo) so maybe my mind will change one day.

[Anonymous]

Fewer. Mine are 22&25 and still not fully cooked. I am burned out. Both have SN that delays.

[Anonymous]

Longer. DC is in their teens and we were fortunate that we never had a “difficult phase”. Time needs to SLOW DOWN!