The best parenting advice I ever read came from an advice column in some magazine at a doctor's office. The question was: what is the ideal spacing for children? I expected to read something about the pros and cons of having kids close in age. The answer was: six feet apart! ;)
I predict we will see some changes in correlations as my generation (Millenial) waits longer to have children (due to a variety of factors). I didn't have my first child until 32, my second at 34, and at age 35 I want at least 1-2 more. My husband and I don't have much choice but to have them (fairly) close together!
Great post! I thought it was interesting that the closer aged children were less likely to complete high school / college... I wonder if that’s because there are less financial resources to support those goals because that’s a lot to take on financially when kids are very close in age?
The title of this makes me cringe! (And I haven’t even read yet 😉😂. Will correct that now!). But can we please step away from the use of “ranking” adjectives (eg “best”) in all psychological literature aimed at parents?
There’s no one “best” way…. just humans, doing their best…. which is just plan Different.
ETA: OK, my apologies! The article is indeed much better than the title. Maybe just go back and put "Best" in quotes?! (But really, it's these sort of internet darts that are killing us all! Our brains weren't meant to be bombarded with this much information All. The. time., and so the little bits that make their way through leave an even bigger mark! ;)
The best parenting advice I ever read came from an advice column in some magazine at a doctor's office. The question was: what is the ideal spacing for children? I expected to read something about the pros and cons of having kids close in age. The answer was: six feet apart! ;)
I predict we will see some changes in correlations as my generation (Millenial) waits longer to have children (due to a variety of factors). I didn't have my first child until 32, my second at 34, and at age 35 I want at least 1-2 more. My husband and I don't have much choice but to have them (fairly) close together!
Super interesting topic to write about! I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you!!
Enjoyed the article. Has there been a study on what this means for multiples?
There are studies on multiples… that would be a great topic for future newsletter!
Great post! I thought it was interesting that the closer aged children were less likely to complete high school / college... I wonder if that’s because there are less financial resources to support those goals because that’s a lot to take on financially when kids are very close in age?
Yes that is what researchers speculate!
The title of this makes me cringe! (And I haven’t even read yet 😉😂. Will correct that now!). But can we please step away from the use of “ranking” adjectives (eg “best”) in all psychological literature aimed at parents?
There’s no one “best” way…. just humans, doing their best…. which is just plan Different.
ETA: OK, my apologies! The article is indeed much better than the title. Maybe just go back and put "Best" in quotes?! (But really, it's these sort of internet darts that are killing us all! Our brains weren't meant to be bombarded with this much information All. The. time., and so the little bits that make their way through leave an even bigger mark! ;)
Maybe you addressed it and I missed it, but could some of the adverse outcomes of longer gaps be related to maternal age?