5-6 age gap siblings

Anon Imperfect Mum

5-6 age gap siblings

Looking for experiences from those with a 5-6 age gap between siblings.. is there no hope for them to bond much?, will it be like raising two only childs? Can you share what has been the pros and cons you have found with this age gap? My only child is almost 5 and we are trying for number 2.

Posted in:  Baby & Toddler, Kids

7 Replies

Anon Imperfect Mum

My brother in law is 10 years younger than his sister, they are really close.
There is three years between me and my 'middle' sibling and 5 years gap between me and my 'youngest' sibling. I am very close to both my siblings, the siblings that are two years apart are not close at all.
My friends have two boys 11 years and 8 years and 1year old girl. Those boys LOVE there little sister.

Close in age does not guarantee a bond, nor does being far apart in age.mit has far more to do with personality types. At different times in your kids lives they are going to be extremely close, at other times they might want to murder each other. That's life no matter what the age gap is.

Point is if you want and would love a baby, have one, don't do it to create a friend for your child. Not all siblings get on, but a lot do no matter what the age gap.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

My two are over 5 years apart and they are very close. I think both being girls help as generally same sex siblings have a closer bond.
Pros: The older child is more independent and it makes it easier after birth as you don't need to constantly look after them like you would a younger child.
The toys they play with are so far apart in age the older child is not likely to get jealous over the toys and stuff the baby gets.

Cons: Finding places to go that suit both their ages is quite hard.
School runs with a newborn is a nightmare O.O
When the younger child starts extra curricular activities the lessons are generally hours apart due to the ages of the kids so you're constantly making trip after trip which is a pain.

But I love having my two and couldn't imagine life without them. If you want another baby then go for it!

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Anon Imperfect Mum

As adults - out of 4 I am second oldest and closest sibling is the youngest, 8 year gap. It comes down to personality, morals, values etc. As kids we were separated by school, friends etc and sometimes they annoyed the shit out of me (there may or may not still be scars haha) but I was fiercely protective and passed on skills I'd learned growing up which reinforced the bond.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

I have an eight year gap with my brother and we're very close. I will have a 5 year gap between my 1st and 2nd. I have friends who are a year apart with their sibling, and don't even speak to one another!

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Anon Imperfect Mum

I'm 5 years older than my brother. We've always gotten on well, we're pretty close as adults though he's 21 now so he's off doing his own thing usually.

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Anon Imperfect Mum

In my experience the gap has little to do with the bonds..more the family dinamics and personalities! Mine are 7 and 6 yrs apart..the boys fight but they love their baby sister..I hope they will all be close as they get older but who knows!! Don't sweat it..just enjoy having one baby at home at a time..I did :)

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Sasha Prout

I'm the second born in a family of 5. My older brother is 8 years older than me, my younger brother is 8 years younger. I have a sister 5 years younger and a another who is 10 years younger. I have great relationships with all my siblings, in fact, we are best friends. We actually hang out together almost daily despite all living apart.

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