Insel affe
HellBilly
wise words.
luckily my wife kept reminding me I’m an embarrassing arsehat, that helped keep me grounded
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[Humour] The Official Dad's (of toddlers) thread
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luckily my wife kept reminding me I’m an embarrassing arsehat, that helped keep me grounded
Jackthelad
Well-known member
- Mar 31, 2010
- 1,071
I found it gets easier as we got older, you get better and more patient with experience. My first child I struggled a lot which in normal. We have 3 kids now. The 1 year old girl is so fun and I do think it's better to have two kids than one. Because imo only children lose out a lot, they don't have the social skills and miss out a lot on not having a brother and sister and the parents can spoil an only child which can lead to behaviour problems.Thanks for adding this thread.
Dad of a just-turned-one year old and while I absolutely adore her, it's been probably the hardest year of my life. Hard to explain that something that the majority of people do, can simultaneously be more difficult than more specialised things I've achieved, if that makes sense.
Julia Donaldson is brilliant though, as is whoever created Bluey.
Interested to hear from anyone who has more than one child. My wife and I have always spoken about having two, but if I'm honest I've struggled with one and I'm nervous how I'd manage with a second.
Sorry for turning the thread downwards somewhat
Insel affe
HellBilly
hmmmm.....
patchamalbion
Well-known member
22 month old daughter here!!
Just about to hit soft-play but I’ve been told 15 times her penguin needs a poo poo so I have to change his happy first….
Just about to hit soft-play but I’ve been told 15 times her penguin needs a poo poo so I have to change his happy first….
surrey jim
Not in Surrey
Thanks for adding this thread.
Dad of a just-turned-one year old and while I absolutely adore her, it's been probably the hardest year of my life. Hard to explain that something that the majority of people do, can simultaneously be more difficult than more specialised things I've achieved, if that makes sense.
Julia Donaldson is brilliant though, as is whoever created Bluey.
Interested to hear from anyone who has more than one child. My wife and I have always spoken about having two, but if I'm honest I've struggled with one and I'm nervous how I'd manage with a second.
Sorry for turning the thread downwards somewhat
I have four 10, 8, 4 and 2. Its hard!
Every day at least three loads of washing, every evening one kids after school club, weekends constant taxi service. - And lets not even start on the food bill!!
Wise words indeed.Paraphrasing Rod Stewart"The first year is the hardest"
After a couple of years you'll suddenly think to yourself "We don't have to change nappies any more (or buy them!)" and "Isn't it lovely to see her running around smiling and laughing". You've presumably already had the "We don't need to wind her after every meal" conversation. That's probably a good time to start considering a sibling for her. She will love having a younger brother/sister and he/she will love having an older sister to learn from and to play with.
But that's just my view.... And remember that every child is different even if brought up the same (I speak as a father of twins!) so there's no way of knowing whether child No.2 will be easier or harder than child No.1.
I wish you well whatever you decide and well done for sharing on here.
Looks like we've gained another Hammer as an NSC regular?
Paging @jevs
A tip of the hat to you, sir.
I have no idea why anyone chooses to go for 3, let alone 4 (FOUR) or more.
Did it only take 4 years to forget the carnage?!
surrey jim
Not in Surrey
Honestly the main change we felt was going from one to two, having three and then four felt no major difference.A tip of the hat to you, sir.
I have no idea why anyone chooses to go for 3, let alone 4 (FOUR) or more.
Did it only take 4 years to forget the carnage?!
The main issue we see with four is car and size. We have a 7 seat Qashqai presently. Seating children in 'the boot seats' leaves no room for luggage [buggy, shopping] to fit in.
As for the carnage at home Ive come to accept the house will be a mess, whatever I cook wont be liked, bath time will increase my grey hairs, etc etc
It goes very quickly but seems like it goes on forever at the time. You will get through it if you support each other and act with consistency.
Number one was easy for me. Number two was then nicknamed "the whirlwind". Walking and running at 10 months, throwing things as she went. The "highlight" was when she put her plastic tea set in the oven. She had literally no off switch, she just crashed when her batteries ran out, sometimes standing up.
Today they are 17 and 13. Eldest comes to every Brighton match with me, home and away and will be in Rome. Youngest has calmed down a little and now spends most of her time out with her mates or in her room making Tik Toks. And, yes, I'm an embarrassing arsehat (albeit that I have the football in common with my son and cooking with my daughter, who loves to cook, helps me and has a decent palate).
Naturally, just as we had our lives back to normal, daughter wanted a dog so we got a mad one who runs everywhere and has no off switch, only crashing when his batteries run out.
Number one was easy for me. Number two was then nicknamed "the whirlwind". Walking and running at 10 months, throwing things as she went. The "highlight" was when she put her plastic tea set in the oven. She had literally no off switch, she just crashed when her batteries ran out, sometimes standing up.
Today they are 17 and 13. Eldest comes to every Brighton match with me, home and away and will be in Rome. Youngest has calmed down a little and now spends most of her time out with her mates or in her room making Tik Toks. And, yes, I'm an embarrassing arsehat (albeit that I have the football in common with my son and cooking with my daughter, who loves to cook, helps me and has a decent palate).
Naturally, just as we had our lives back to normal, daughter wanted a dog so we got a mad one who runs everywhere and has no off switch, only crashing when his batteries run out.
I've got three who are 12, 10 and 7 now. I detested the lack of sleep in that first year for all three and felt like I was on auto pilot. Especially the first one as you're just not physically or mentally prepared for it. It is easier with the other kids as you know what to expect.
I absolutely adore spending time with them now, and can already see their childhood slipping away. I found you forget the hard parts of the new born phase pretty quickly. If I hadn't had the snip... might have been tempted to have a fourth!
I absolutely adore spending time with them now, and can already see their childhood slipping away. I found you forget the hard parts of the new born phase pretty quickly. If I hadn't had the snip... might have been tempted to have a fourth!
This sounds very familiar. Our 2nd took his first teetering steps the day he turned 8 months and is in a hurry to do EVERYTHING physical. He's about 6 months ahead of where our daughter was physically, though she was more verbal more quickly and now chats away like a 5yr old even though she's not even 3.
Cockapoo? Don't worry, he'll settle down a little bit by the time he turns 5
This sounds very familiar. Our 2nd took his first teetering steps the day he turned 8 months and is in a hurry to do EVERYTHING physical. He's about 6 months ahead of where our daughter was physically, though she was more verbal more quickly and now chats away like a 5yr old even though she's not even 3.
Cockapoo? Don't worry, he'll settle down a little bit by the time he turns 5
Yup. How did you guess!
The 3rd (and oldest) member of our brood is a daft-as-a-brush Cockapoo too.
Yup. How did you guess!
I love him to bits, but he ALWAYS manages to chip in with something annoying at the wrong time. E.g. ruining the only time our son has slept for a 6 hour chunk in the night by scratching at the door and barking to be let out slap bang in the middle of it at about 2am. He's only ever done it 3 or 4 times since being house trained (he's 7), so his "comic" timing was perfect.
Great thread.
Happy if tired Dad of a 5 year old boy (6 tomorrow and will NOT sleep tonight) and 2 year old girl. Feel very lucky that we got one of each and don't feel any need to have further children to chase a gender or anything like that.
I feel like we're done at 2, but this might change in a year or two.
As someone wise once said about bringing up children "the days are long but the years are short". I feel like I absolutely get that now.
I remember thinking I was tired before having kids. What an idiot.
Then I thought I was tired having only one kid. What an idiot.
I salute anyone with 3/4 kids. No idea how you do it.
Happy if tired Dad of a 5 year old boy (6 tomorrow and will NOT sleep tonight) and 2 year old girl. Feel very lucky that we got one of each and don't feel any need to have further children to chase a gender or anything like that.
I feel like we're done at 2, but this might change in a year or two.
As someone wise once said about bringing up children "the days are long but the years are short". I feel like I absolutely get that now.
I remember thinking I was tired before having kids. What an idiot.
Then I thought I was tired having only one kid. What an idiot.
I salute anyone with 3/4 kids. No idea how you do it.
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This is a great quote. Very true.
All of this
We had two (one of each) two years apart, but as the years went by we decided there was something missing. So 7 years after our second was born, we had a third and personally at that point I really did feel complete (although my wife was in two minds about wanting a 4th). It was funny doing it all again for a second time and obviously has meant we've delayed various decisions (like moving away, travelling a couple e.t.c.) but I wouldn't want it any other way. I would also say it wasn't as hard work by the time the third came round. All that angst (and to an extent, financial hardship) just wasn't there.
Brian Fantana
Well-known member
My two are 7 and 4 (one of each). My daughter, who is the eldest, was and is an absolute dream to parent. She slept well as a baby, she isn't fussy with food, she's open minded to new activities/days out etc and is an absolute stickler for the rules. My son, on the other hand, is an absolute whirlwind - he's like the Tasmanian Devil, both physically and emotionally. I'm so torn on a third. If the third was like my first then absolutely, but I don't think I can run the risk of having another one like my son.