2

Probably 2.5 years or less difference. Mine are exactly 24 months apart and they share many friends/interests, and are close to the same size in clothing etc. Granted-one is taller and one is shorter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in school, I think siblings are close in age if they are only 1 or 2 grades apart.

Oh this is a good point. I think grades matter maybe even more than ages. So 2.5 years but 2 grades apart = close in age, 2.5 but 3 grades apart = not close in age?

Yes, a good friend has three kids with 2.5 years between each almost to the day but the first two are three grades apart and the second and third are two grades apart and the second and third seem much closer on age than the first and second so.

Less than two years apart, especially if that means one year apart in school.

Under two years

Anonymous wrote:Agree that less than two years is close in age. 2-3.5 years is average and 3.5+ is a big gap.

My kids are 20 months apart, and while they've almost always seemed close in age, at 5 (preschool) and 6 (1st grade) they seem farther apart because my oldest can read and write. So it also depends on age and stage of the kids.

Mine are 3.3 years apart and while it's average, it feels like more because of what grades they went into school (due to cutoffs). I have a 4th grader and a Ker. That feels very far apart. Once they get in school, you start identifying them with the grade cohort rather than specific age.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in school, I think siblings are close in age if they are only 1 or 2 grades apart.

This.

We have 4. Decent spacing until the last two who are only 20 months apart. Those two are only 1 grade apart (fall bday followed by summer bday, so the Sept K cutoff played a role). But having a newborn and a 20 month old was hard!

1 year apart is close in age. Anything more than that is not.

Agree that less than two years is close in age. 2-3.5 years is average and 3.5+ is a big gap.

My kids are 20 months apart, and while they've almost always seemed close in age, at 5 (preschool) and 6 (1st grade) they seem farther apart because my oldest can read and write. So it also depends on age and stage of the kids.

My girls are 26 months apart to the day And 2 grades apart. They are super close and at 4 and 6 are into the same things. The older one is more advanced in sports and is starting to read and write, but when they play (all day long) they are on the same level.
My boy is 3.25 years younger than my second. He is still a baby, but I think he won’t be as close to his sisters... but I hope I might be wrong!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in school, I think siblings are close in age if they are only 1 or 2 grades apart.

Oh this is a good point. I think grades matter maybe even more than ages. So 2.5 years but 2 grades apart = close in age, 2.5 but 3 grades apart = not close in age?

Mine are 2.5 years apart but 3 years apart grade wise. They definitely are close in age but school wise they seem far apart because the youngest missed the cut off for K by a couple of weeks. By the time the youngest started HS, the oldest was a senior and taking some of his classes at the community college. They barely saw each other at all at HS.

They did, however, grow up doing swim team, baseball and other activities together. They are very compatible and go places and do things with each other because they are close in age. If the youngest hadn't missed the K cut off or if we had held our summer bday oldest back a year they would have had more school experiences together - like riding the bus or going to football games together.

2.5 an under

Less than two years. 2.5 -3 is normal. + 3 year apart is widely spaced.

Anonymous wrote:I think you're right. There's close (2.5 and under), a middle sized gap (2.5-4 probably), and a big gap (4+). If we end up with a second, which isn't looking likely, we'll be at 4.5+ years and I'm mentally past the point of them being close in age. I think there's another line where it's more like having two only children (instead of two, but both always being at different stages) and I'm not sure where that is...6.5-7 years maybe?

Nope, that’s still just a big gap. Feeling like 2 onlies is more like 10+ years apart. Ie. reasonable to ask older to babysit the younger child.

18 months or less.