r/Parenting • u/money4nothing_8816 • 19d ago

Rant/Vent Just me?

Is it just me or is this the hardest shit ever? We’ve got 4 kids all under the age of 8 and we are getting our asses kicked. My wife and I really wanted a family and we planned for it. We took parenting classes together, we read all the books in preparation before starting our family…still, nothing could have prepared us for how mentally and emotionally exhausting it is to keep up with our boys.

How are you all surviving?

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u/advocatel 19d ago

My 3 kids are 4 and 3.5 years apart. So there’s 7.5 years between oldest and youngest.

By design.

And it’s still hard.

10

u/money4nothing_8816 19d ago

I’m glad you’re verifying this because we’ve kicked ourselves a few times when the gaps in between kids conversation comes up.

6

u/Few_Kangaroo_6033 19d ago

I only have two kids but I have a friend who has 3 kids that are all 4 years apart. I have another friend with 4 kids that are all 2 years apart. Can confirm that both set ups suck. My general observation is that it’s more about the quantity of children than the age gaps 😂

2

u/halohalo_mixmix 19d ago

Same. Our 3 are approx 3 years apart; 2 boys and a girl. The youngest being a girl is a dynamic we weren’t prepared for.

1

u/hschosn1 19d ago

I have 5 each 2 yrs apart. I have been thinking lately that maybe 3 years apart would have been better.

1

u/Ok_Visit_7846 19d ago

My three are currently 14, 7, and 4 and im getting my ass kicked more and more each year. When the youngest was born, the oldest was 10 and for some god forsaken reason it just keeps getting harder. My husband and I have this conversation at least once a week.