After being a single mom for 8 years, I really thought that my family would be capped at 2 kids. When it comes to maternal age, I was getting older and thought the girls would be it.
Little did I know that my family would expand by two more. My husband and I were married in 2019. And here I was in my mid-thirties, pregnant with baby number 3, and our family was growing! But with a pretty big age gap!
We are juggling 3 girls and a boy—ages 15, 12, 2, and 18 months. It is wild, and it is beautiful.
I will share the ways we are bridging the gap and helping our kids build strong sibling relationships.
One of the cool things we do every year is a Summer List of 100, which you can snag here.
Activities for both ages
Spending time at a cold sporting event isn’t ideal for rambunctious toddlers. And going to a toddler play date at the park is pretty lame for teens.
But, because we love to spend time together as a family, we try to balance activities for both age groups.
We might go for a round of mini golf for the big kids while carrying the tods in an ergo or the double stroller.
We might go to a discovery museum that the big kids have aged out of but can help show the wonder of this world to the littles.
The point is we do a wide range of activities to hit age-appropriate activities for both sets of kids.
But I have learned that it’s more about the time spent and less about what you’re doing.
Activities that are in between
Honestly, we are at a point where a TON of activities suit all ages.
We are talking:
- Pool
- Zoo
- Aquarium
- Corn Maze
- Picnics
And I think that when the activities are skewed to the younger ages, it allows the big kids to let loose… to stop worrying about the daily pressures and revel in being a kid again.
Encouraging teens to help littles
A key is that I always encourage the big kids to help the little so that they can enjoy the activities as well.
A great example was when we went to the zoo over the summer, and the big kids not only wowed with the littles but also climbed on the kid’s equipment with them—keeping them safe while building a sibling bond.
It warms my heart every time.
It felt overwhelming when I first started thinking about a big age gap. But I have learned that it’s more about the time spent and less about what you’re doing.
I hope you have found encouragement and some ideas if you have a big age gap in your children. It is a beautiful blessing, and we see so much joy in it.
Comment below and tell me what activities you have found you love to do with your kids—no matter the age!
