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

[Anonymous]

I wished time away for many years and now that my kids are 13 and 10 I want it to slow down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Those really are wonderful years in kid personality terms, but they were also exhausting and expensive. I’m in the home stretch legally as my last two are juniors, but I expect they will need some parenting in the form of advice through their early twenties. If not, yay!

[Anonymous]

If you are a mom with sons, consider that you could be an Orca Whale and have that job forever. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/09/world/killer-whale-mothers-sons-scli-intl-scn/index.html

[Anonymous]

Mine are 12 and 15 and I want them to stay forever. Time is a thief.

[Anonymous]

The early years are physically intense. The teenage years are emotionally intense. Two very different experiences.

You will be surprised when you kid goes off to college and you suddenly walk past an empty bedroom how fast it all went looking back. You feel old watching the parents pass with babies in strollers. You think to yourself, "If only they could understand right now how fast it will go later, and how it will feel like a blink of the eye." It really is true. One your kids are gone, you're officially an old lady.

[Anonymous]

The days are long but the years are short.

[Anonymous]

Way longer. I'm hoping my kids are the weirdos who never want to move out. They can go to Harvard remotely right?

[Anonymous]

Mom of a stubborn 3yo here.

good lord Jesus, fewer.

[Anonymous]

More years. I enjoy parenting much more than my career, and find it much more rewarding- even though it’s hard.

[Anonymous]

Way more! My DD is going to HS next year and it's hitting me hard.

[Anonymous]

I miss the baby and toddler years so much I want to cry sometimes. Even with my grumpy teen I wish I could slow time down.

[Anonymous]

Longer in the elementary years. 8 yrs of ES, then 6 yrs of MS and 4 yrs of HS. 5 yrs at home

So, 23 yrs for them to go to college.

[Anonymous]

I have a 17 yr old who is wearing out his welcome big time these days. Maybe a year or two shorter would work better.

[Anonymous]

My only DC is coming up on 13 years old and knowing we’ve got just 5-6 more years together at home has been hitting me hard already. Absolutely wish it was longer.

[Anonymous]

My oldest will start high school this fall, and I find it so depressing how fast it’s all going. I’ve felt it has gone fast from day 1. Having kids at home has been the best phase of my adult life, and I am not eager for it to end. Just trying to enjoy them while they’re still kids/at home.