5 Awesome Things about Having Kids Close in Age

"What on earth are you going to do when they're all teenagers?!"

"How are you going to pay for college for that many kids?"

"Your poor older children. They never got to be the baby for very long."

These are just some randomly rude comments I've heard in the last few weeks alone, from strangers. I'm never quite sure how I'm suppose to respond to any of it, I mean, do they even expect me to give an answer? Quite honestly, a. It's none of their business. and b. my older children seem to be doing pretty well, so far. :)

As I've thought about some of these comments, I've been reminded yet again that while it's definitely not easy having so many little ones underfoot, it's also got some benefits.

1. They are each other's best friends. Sure they have their little arguments, and sharing issues, but they all love being together and playing together. Especially when I look at Lily(my four year old) and Anna(my five year old) I can't help but think how much fun it must be to always have your best friend around.

2. They are all on a similar schedule. Obviously Jack's daily routine is different from Luke and Max's, but they all still have an afternoon "quiet" time, and they all go to bed at the same time. The kids typically go to bed at 7:30, so we get to relax a little before heading to bed ourselves.

3. They have similar interests. For example, we can go to the park or the transportation museum, and everyone will genuinely have a good time. When we have family movie nights there really isn't any arguing over whether or not something is a "baby" show.

4. They are used to babies. The kids love babies, and there isn't usually too much jealousy when we bring a new one home(although it's not perfect.) But the children are already used to seeing Mommy and Daddy with other kids, so they don't generally get too worked up when they see us holding a new baby. Plus, they just think babies are cute and love playing with them.

5. It teaches you to relax. I always smile(well, sometimes I cringe) to myself when I think back to when I just had one child. I would stress out about every little thing and make myself sick with worry reading What to Expect in the First Year(Is he smiling enough? He's not clapping yet, what are we going to do?!) I had a strict bedtime routine and nap time routine for him, and heaven help the baby sitter who went even the slightest bit off of that schedule. That's not to say bedtime routines are bad, but really I don't think it matters if your child's grandma wants to rock the baby to sleep one night when you usually prefer to let your baby go to sleep on their own. Having multiple children, can certainly help you get a little more confident and relax.

Maybe I should print this list off and hand it out to the people at the grocery store who make these comments...;)


What else would you add to this list? 

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