Reply to Parents of 3+ kids, how is there "enough" of you to go around?

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[quote=Anonymous]We have 3 and they would probably tell you that they don't get enough attention, and would keep telling you that even if DH and I both quit our jobs and spent every waking moment with them.

DS1 is 9 and is a very bright, very sensitive kid.  He's reached an age where he wants to hang out with friends or sit and read or play video games a lot of the time so he's not as demanding of our attention as he used to be, but at the same time he gets upset easily and requires a lot of our attention just to help him work through his issues.

DD2 is 6 and "the easy one" but we knew before we had our third that DD2 would never get lost as a middle child or allow anyone to overlook her.

DD3 is about to be 4 and was a very easy baby and then more demanding toddler and now heading towards being a bit of a handful as a 4 year old.

I work full-time so we have a nanny from 10-6.  DH also works full-time, but he has a flexible job and works out of the house a lot so he can spend time with the kids in the morning before the nanny gets there and when they were babies/toddlers he used to take a lunch break or just hang out and play when he had a few minutes during the day.  I try to do one-on-one things occasionally, though we tend to spend most time on the weekends as a family.  Honestly, most of my time outside of work is focused on the kids, but I would expect that to be the same no matter how many we had.  DH is the same way.  We're lucky in that they tend to keep each other occupied, so either the older 2 or the younger 2 will be playing with each other and not looking for our attention.  When all 3 of them are doing something that usually requires more parental attention because they're likely to end up running around like lunatics.

We have a couple of former nannies/family friends who like to take the kids every month or so for an outing and my parents live nearby and have been able to help out occasionally, but honestly it's mostly just DH and I spending all of our time with the kids.

I recognized from the start that DS1 would never feel like he got enough attention (even when he was an only child) so that has helped me keep some perspective on what the kids need versus what they want.  Having said that, if all 3 of them were as sensitive as DS1, I'd probably be a lot more stressed about having 3 kids.[/quote]

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