Does It Get Easier As They Get Older?? - Page 2

[The4OfUs]

Originally Posted by weezix

thats what i hear...that it doesn't get easier, it just gets different. it really IS easier than when my three were all just babies and i was a single mom. its easier now that most of them can actually dress themselves - even though they still like me to do it. i really think all the crying and clingyness is the hardest part for now...it will be easier for me when i dont have them following me around and crying at my leg all the time

Yeah, I have to agree with this - the kind of different it is now is way easier than they were younger. Now it's mostly annoying and busy; before I was emotionally drained and exhausted. Now it's just minor annoyances sprinkled in a day with more structured activities.

[RubyWild]

YES! Having a nine year old is wonderful! It has its own challenges, but my life is so much freer now than it was a few years ago. It's quite lovely. I worry a little about the teen years, but what will be will be and I'm savoring these wonder years.

[weezix]

haha i worry about the teens years too especially since i'll have 4 girls all teenagers at practically the same time!!

i realize life gets busy with appointments and such as they get older - but we also live on a very tight budget and can't afford extra curricular activities so i dont think it will really get much busier than it already is (with juggling the other parents and visitation schedules).

i wish i could find some way to get my young kids to contribute more to the chores. we are at the stage now with the three year olds that they just flat out refuse to do what i ask. i can't really force them. the older two CAN be helpful if they want to be. and my 2 year old LOVES to help...but 2 year old help is kind of the opposite of help HAHAHA

[MangoMommy]

In your case, yes it will get easier. First off, having them at school all day (unless you are homeschooling) will give you some quiet time. But when they get home it is nuts. Homework and dinner and fighting. It's semi-chaos at my house afterschool.

It's easier but still hard and exhausting. I have a baby and a nearly 10 yr old and by far the olders are easier than the clingy whiny non-napping baby!

[mom2happy]

I say it gets easier physically for your body, but it gets harder mentally.
It's like a switch between the two exhaustions.
Having 3 spread apart in 7 years I have both ends of the spectrum.
Its hard, but fun.
Do you have help during the day when you have all 5 little ones?

[ChetMC]

I'm Not Optimistic

I'm not optimistic about it getting truly easier. I think you just get more organized, more preemptive, more tolerant of stuff like mess and noise (otherwise you go crazy), etc. And for some people, they are just better suited to the challenges of certain age groups. I agree about the mental versus physical stresses.

Babies and toddlers are pretty easy for us. I don't feel that we have truly experienced having four kids yet. When we go out DH wears older DS on his back, I wear younger DS on my back, and we only have two kids to really worry about on the subway, at the grocery store, at crowded events, etc. I feel that we will be much more of a travelling circus when our kids are 4, 6.5, 9 and 10.5. I do not look forward to getting four kids up and organized for school.

The problems of a baby or a toddler are so easy to solve compared to a lot of the problems faced by a school aged child or a teen.

[Cascadian]

Originally Posted by mom2happy

I say it gets easier physically for your body, but it gets harder mentally.

Totally. I never would have thought it, but it's true. I have an almost 5 and almost 7.

For me though, I HATED physical exhaustion. It really wore me down and made me feel horrible. I'll take mental exhaustion over physical ANY day. Mentally at least it's easier to recharge and rejuvenate, like a good night's sleep or me-time.

So for me...sure it flipped a switch for different hardness, but I sure like this one better.

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by mom2happy

I say it gets easier physically for your body, but it gets harder mentally.

The little ones were physically exhausting. I don't really miss it.

Ages 5 to 11 were a breeze, emotionally, but the after school homework issues are hell.

My oldest is 15 y.o. Her room is a mess and I wish she took better care of it. I have to drive her around a lot. But otherwise she pretty much takes care of herself. But emotionally, my job as a parent is getting harder. I mean, at least I'm not physically drained and horribly depressed like I was when the kids were little. But her actions and choices have bigger consequences that are going to affect her for the rest of her life. So I worry, even though I know what a relatively level-headed young lady she is.

And my particular thing lately, that wakes me up in the middle of the night, is the realization that we only have her for three more years. Three more years to get it right, then she's off, and whatever will be, will be. It chills me to the bone.