What stage of parenting was easiest for you...what stage was most difficult?

How old are your kids...and how many kids do you have?What stage of parenting was easiest for you...what stage was most difficult?
I have three kids, 6 months 3 years and 4 years. So far, I've found the older they get the easier it gets. (Especially once they're potty trained!!!!) I'm assuming this changes once they hit their pre-teens. Babies are the most difficult, being up all night, changing lots of diapers, and all the worries that accompany them. However, babies are much more rewarding. I'm going to miss having a baby in the house as I don't think we'll have anymore! Brings tears to my eyes *sniff sniff*.What stage of parenting was easiest for you...what stage was most difficult?
16(male)and 13(female)





Baby/toddler stage was definitely the hardest. No sleep, no going to the bathroom by myself, constant supervision of everything, writing on walls, peeling off wallpaper, vomiting on upholstery, scream scream scream and tantrum... it was totally draining.


Now, they are so much fun and we have good times talking, doing schoolwork, listening to music, trying to recreate recipes from food network and stuff. Also, they take care of themselves and go to bed by 10 or 11 without drama. Of course the driver's ed makes me feel so nervous, but that is probably normal.


So anyway, when they are older you can do a lot of fun things with your kids and they can help you a lot.


So, I say teen years are the easiest, baby years the hardest.
Easiest was probably around 10-11 months - my son wasn't crawling yet, a lot of my random anxieties about him had diminished, he started sleeping through the night regularly and I finally felt totally recovered, physically and emotionally, from sleep-deprivation and c-section.





This stage, at 17 months, is more work, though also more fun - he has such a personality now.





The hardest stage was probably around 3 months - the excitement of the new baby was a little bit tarnished, my maternity leave ended and I went back to work for a while, my husband and I bickered a lot, everything just seemed so hard. I was a walking zombie and it was hard to see past that stage sometimes.
It comes in waves. Right now my 4th grader has days when he acts like I'm something to tolerate and is disinterested in family activities and other days he's this gem that I can't believe I'm lucky enough to be raising. So I'd say now and when he was in his early 3's have been the most difficult and the rest of the time has been a cakewalk for the most part. My youngest is the easiest now because his asthma/allergies seem to have practically disappeared and he is no longer the painfully shy child who wouldn't speak to anyone and almost seemed to have panic attacks when spoken to by strangers. He isn't outgoing but is much more comfortable with people now.
This is tough to answer... I have 4 kids: almost 12 (son), 10 1/2 (daughter), 2 1/2 (daughter), and 1 (daughter)... So, the older two are close in age, and the younger two are close in age.





I'm having difficulty with my 10-year-old daughter, right now; she thinks she's the 'boss,' of everyone! Not just her sibs, but of mom and dad, too, and that just doesn't jive well with me. No way, so she and I are clashing like nobody's business. :) My oldest---my son---is a breeze, most of the time, although his perfectionism can drive me nuts, sometimes.





My 1-year-old is getting into everything; climbing up on stuff, scaring me, so I'm up on my feet, a lot, keeping her safe... My 2-year-old throws a lot of tantrums, and is going through the not listening stage. Oh, the fun of those 'terrible two's'... I take heart, though, cause the good news is, the 'horrible three's' are on the way! ;)





So, right now, the 10-year-old stage, and the 2-year-old stage, are kicking my ***... They can be really sweet kids, and they're all awesome, but when they get on one of their trips, it's stressful.





*edit* Sorry, I only answered half of the question... The easiest stage, was the baby stage. Before they were mobile; when having mama was enough to keep them satisfied!
In all honesty, I don't think we've hit the ';hard'; stage yet. My daughter is 20 months old, but many of the people I work with have teenagers or college-aged kids. Listening to some of their stories frightens me, frankly!





The easiest stage for us so far was the very beginning. It's not that way for everyone, I know, but my daughter slept through the night the first day of her life. And continued to do so - on her own. She was content most of the time, wakeful but not fussy, never had problems feeding, and was generally just a ';good'; baby. As an older infant, she would eat anything I put in front of her, napped regularly, was the happiest smiliest little thing you ever saw, just all around easy. No wonder I wanted to have another right away, huh? If I had to pick the hardest point so far it would be right now. The tantrums started at around 12 months, and although I can almost always talk her out of them somehow, parenting is definitely more challenging with a toddler than it is with a baby. Still, though, I am amazed every day at the things she learns - both silly and meaningful. My daughter is at that stage where she's soaking up EVERYTHING, all at once. It's a whole new world out there when you have a little one! I try to put the stories that other parents tell me into perspective and embrace the challenges ahead, however difficult they may be when they arise. To some extent, it is what you make of it.





Good luck. ;)
I would have to say for me..the easiest stage was his newborn days. Only bc he took to breastfeeding really easy and all he wanted was boobie,change diaper and then sleep. He slept through the night from early on. Some nights (when I shouldve been sleeping) I laid there and watched him sleep. He's now 17 months old into everything, will not go to bed easily, fights naps,fights teeth brushing, fights me when giving baths and REFUSES to sleep in his crib. Which is now going to his brother. Doesnt want me or daddy out of his sight 80% of the time. Even tho I had a c section with my son and was in pain and had engorgement. It was still a lot easier than now bc I could lay down and sleep with him without worrying what hes trying to put into his mouth or what hes trying to drag out and destroy.
Mine are 16, 13, 11, 8 and twins 7.


Universally, the first year is the most difficult. I hate it. I love toddlers and up, but from birth to about 6-8 months was always really tough for me. I think my problem is that infants are so absolutely dependent and have no real way to communicate their needs. That, and no matter how many of my own kids, my nieces and nephews, my friends' kids I've held, I am ALWAYS nervous holding babies. I don't like it, and the way their heads loll and their eyes won't focus when they're really small is creepy to me. You'd think after 6 kids I wouldn't be freaked out by it, but I am. But it's more than worth it. I know that's only a few months and once it's over, there's many more years that I just love.





The easiest stage, I think for different kids it's been different. Right now both my 11 %26amp; 8 y/o daughters are a dream. So is my 16y/o son.


My 13y/o son is... frankly, he's very difficult right now. He was easiest when he was about 5-10, then he went into school and started changing into this person I don't know, and it's been worse this year. His older brother was easy at 13, I suspect my others will be too. Maybe not the twins, but they're not badly behaved. Just chaotic. My 13y/o is difficult and almost mean lately. He's my only one in public schools and I see that influence affecting his personality all the time, every day.


My oldest has been easy since the day he was born, so has my 8y/o daughter. My 11y/o has been easy since she was about 4-5, before that she was wild. The twins are high energy, but not really difficult. They're easiest right now as they've ever been.
I have two kids, an 11 month old son, and a 2 1/2 year old daughter.





The easiest part for us with our daughter was her first year. We loved to watch her grow and develop, and smile and learn her first words. It's the same way with our son.





The most difficult is when they are sick, especially at the same time. And even more difficult is this current stage with our daughter. She has developmental disorders and a neurological condition, so it is very hard.





But every minute of it is VERY rewarding, and we wouldn't change it for anything.
Every stages has its ups and downs. And what seems difficult now will look easy as you enter the next stage.





My daughters are 19 and 16. Looking back, I had thought the infant stage was rough, especially with my oldest, because I was inexperienced and had no one to turn to and was doing it all on my own (my husband read the books and tried to help but we were both new to this). When I had my younger daughter, suddenly, infancy was easy. Ditto for the next stage and so on and so on.





My older daughter was the ideal toddler, her sister was a hell raiser. The older one was a rough pre-teen, her sister was easy. My older daughter suddenly blossomed into a human being around age 16, we are still waiting for her sister to have that metamorphosis.





My older daughter is now a sophomore in college. She knows exactly what she plans to do, how she plans to do it and what it will take. She has had her game plan since she was 17 and has not wavered from it. Her sister is just a bit hazy on those details, but I know she will come around. So technically, I could say that this stage is rough considering my younger daughter, but in about 20 years, I will probably view it as equal to a walk in the park.
I thought personally that raising them while they were young was a snap. In fact I raised both my kids alone until I met my husband. I had struggles but I thought it was the easiest part. Now that they are older, 7 and 9, it seems like it's getting more difficult. How to teach them things and get them to listen, how to make them appreciate what they have, how to teach them what matters in life. Etc......


What works for one child doesn't work for the other. It's just sort of a fly by the seat of your pants thing for me. Trial and error. It's not cut and dry like, changing a baby, or rocking them to sleep at night.
I am a mother of three BOYS yes no girls in this family. Well of coarse myself .I have a husband who can be the biggest baby of them all:) J/k my baby is 22 months old and hitting that two year old stage.


have a 6 years old and man does that boy love to test me on a day to day basis. I also have my 9 year old full of adventure and ready for to start the day as soon as he wakes up.


The easiest stage is once my oldest tuned 7 a up.


The most difficult time is when all of my boys where


going through TODDLER stage They all loved


to get into every thing.


Reminder: OOOOOOh yea I am still going through


those stages again with my 22 month old but loving every minute of it. I love all three of my boys including my husband and dog who sometimes are the biggest babies in the house:)
I have one child, a boy, age 8.





My husband would say the hardest was the infant stage. I don't agree. But then parenting is quite different for a father and a mother.





I would say that right now is the hardest. I am trying to instill my value system in this little brain but he is exposed to other children all day that come from homes with much different values. So struggling to teach him that others values are not ';wrong';, but just not what we believe is the way to behave. He is still a child yet it seems that society is pushing our children to be grown up at a younger and younger age. I see that internal struggle in my son. Sometimes he wants to play in the dirt and blow bubbles and then he says watching Disney movies is for ';little kids';.





So I guess I would say the hardest time to parent is the bridge between being a little kid and a big kid.





Is that vague enough. ;-)
I have one child (thank GOD!) and she's 10. The easiest stage was when she was 5-7 years old. That's when she did what she was asked to do without tantrums and she always wanted to 'help' me no matter what it was...cooking, cleaning, etc. She was so sweet and innocent back then! Now that she's 10, the pre-teen attitude is starting to come out, she doesn't want to lift a finger around the house (including keeping her room clean), she has a lackadaisical approach to school which up to this point she's been on honor roll since first grade, and she has learned to play me and her father off of each other. Ugh...if this is a just a little taste of what's to come, I'll be rocking a full head of gray hairs before I'm 40!
I have one daughter and she is almost 18 months. I only have 18 months of experience and I would say the newborn/infant stage was the hardest. My daughter was very colicky, had feeding issues, and never slept longer than an hour without waking up until she was 3 months old. The easiest stage is when they start crawling/walking. I find now that she is getting older and smarter, she tries to use that to her advantage. I find I have to be more stern with her now so that she doesn't end up with a spoiled attitude that she is starting to show. She is our first child so every age will be a learning experience for us.
Easiest for me is the newborn, infant stage. Once they start getting really mobile and opinionated is where I find myself screaming into a pillow.


Like 2-3 years old. (I have a two year old and she is spirited lol)


I have 3 girls, 13, 9, and 2.


I keep reminding myself that they all go through a stage like this, and it's over way to quickly.
I would honestly have to say the newborn stage was the easiest. When all they want is to be fed and clean and loved thats the best part...And when they will sit still to let you cuddle them and just look at them. The hardest is the 2-4 year stage when they push every boundary they have constantly.





My oldest is 7 and shes hard some days and has her little meltdowns shes not hard but more time consuming then when she was brand new TBH. And the babies will be one tommorow!! wow...And they are into everything! So ya i would say that first 2-3 months is the easiest part.
My son is only 2.5 but the easiest time so far was after 6 weeks (when he slept through the night :o) til he was about 4 months old. Pretty easy to entertain and could not crawl/walk anywhere so he could not get into any mischief. I am having more fun with him now though as his vocabulary is astounding and he if he doesn't know what it is called he will ask.
I have 3 kids (22 month old twins, and a 9 month old) In my opinion I think that newborn stage was the easiest. I found the older the get the harder they get! My kids are not that old though so it may get easier, but for now the toddlers are definitely a handful while my little guy is so much easier....
I have one son, and the most difficult time, hands down, was when he was a newborn....sleep deprivation, getting sick a lot, not knowing what his needs were, being an insecure new parent. Easiest stage is right now, 2 years old! He is able to communicate his wants and needs and it is SO much easier!!!!
i think it is easier from birth to like 5 months, from there on i dont think it ever gets easier just hard and easy in different ways





19 months


5 months