Anything over 5 years is considered a large age gap. This could be planned or is sometimes a whoopsie or just situational, such as children from different relationships. A larger age gap doesn't mean siblings can't be close, it is just will be a different type of relationship.
Couples with a zero to three-year age difference showed greater satisfaction than those with a four- to six-year gap. Likewise, couples with a four- to six-year gap showed greater satisfaction than those with a seven-plus year gap. In general, marital satisfaction decreased as the age difference increased.
For those who'd like to put a number to things, usually, a gap of 1-7 years can be considered an acceptable age difference between adults. People whose ages are within 1-3 years typically do not see much of an age difference, while years 4-7 might begin to feel a little bit more pronounced.
Gaps of over five years are associated with pregnancy and birth problems (not just because you're likely to be an older mum) (Conde-Agudelo et al, 2006). With bigger gaps, your children may be into different things so not as close until they're much older.
6 years isn't too much of an age gap to not like the same things. Now that Birch can talk and run, the games they have in common have increased – especially open-ended, imaginative play, builds developmental skills for both of them despite their age difference!
There's just as much chance that children much closer in age won't get on, either as children or adults. Seven years is really not too big an age gap at all. Honestly. There's no right or wrong answer but for me, having seen a friend who has children with a similar age gap and how it worked, it was a no.
The main result of our analysis is that a larger age gap between siblings negatively affects personality traits. Specifically, a larger birth gap leads to more disorganized behavior, more neuroticism, and more introversion.
Based on test results of students from 82 different types of families, researchers concluded that the ideal student is a boy with two younger siblings. His next sibling must be a boy, fewer than two years younger than he is.
VERDICT: As per World Health Organization, a gap of at least 24 months should be there between your first and second child. By this time, the mother's body gets fully recovered from her first pregnancy as she replenishes the nutrients she lost in her first pregnancy.
There is a gap of 13 to 24 months between first and second child for 17.5 percent of Americans and a gap of 25 to 36 months for 17.2 percent of Americans.
By 4 years old, firstborns are a bit more mature — which means they may be less likely to feel threatened, jealous or insecure with the arrival of a sibling. And since physical aggression is most pronounced between the ages of 2 and 4, your older sib is apt to be gentler with the baby, too. You're at ease.
Different Ages, Different Stages
Photo credit: Cheapism It turns out, there are biological reasons not to have kids too close together in age: The World Health Organization recommends spacing pregnancies at least two years apart for the mother and child's health.
There's just as much chance that children much closer in age won't get on, either as children or adults. Seven years is really not too big an age gap at all.
The short answer to the question at hand is yes, the age gap between siblings does matter. Meri Wallace, LCSW, writes in Psychology Today that “large and small age gaps strongly affect children's experiences…
“When there is a significant difference in age, like 10 to 15 years or more, life experiences can be vastly different.” In relationships with a large emotional maturity gap, the more mature partner could end up carrying a heavier emotional load in the relationship, leading to exhaustion and potentially a breakup.
Having Babies After 35 Is Safe
And while it's true that conceiving after 35 comes with an increased risk of complications—like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, chromosomal abnormalities, and even miscarriage or stillbirth—many people go on to deliver healthy babies.
Is it a household of girls, a household of boys, or a mix of the two best for parents? According to a survey conducted by British parenting website Bounty, two girls are considered the best combination for parents to have a happy and harmonious family life.
The order you were born can have an impact on how successful you are in life, according to Sandra Black, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin. In her research, Black has found that first-born children tend to do better than their younger siblings when it comes to education and earnings.
Your success in life may be influenced by your birth order, according to the economist Sandra E. Black. Black points to research she and her colleagues have conducted that found that firstborns tend to be smarter, richer, and all-around more successful than their younger siblings.
What about age spacing between siblings? Parents interact with and read more to children when there is a larger age gap, which translates into higher test scores for more widely spaced siblings (in particular, greater than two years) (Buckles & Munnich, 2012; Price, 2010). Age spacing also seems to impact education.
According to the Center For Parenting Education, "siblings who are close in age have high access to one another and are more likely to be physical with one another." This means kids who are born back to back spend more time together, which leads to more things to fight about and argue over.