Babble

That's interesting--do you know what she based that on?

I always thought 2 years apart would be ideal, but here I am with a two year old and I can't imagine another one anytime soon.  

Canadian psychiatrist Elliott Barker recommends a minimum of three years because those years are critical for adequate nurturing. When a new sibling arrives, the first child is unable to receive the full time and attention he needs.

In his article The Critical Importance of Mothering he states that "a three- or four-year spacing between children (the natural spacing of totally committed breastfeeding) tends to reap enormous emotional benefits to individual children. This allows children a position that will not be usurped by a younger sibling before they are capable of understanding it or before they are able to get by with less immediate attention to their needs."

janhunt:

Canadian psychiatrist Elliott Barker recommends a minimum of three years because those years are critical for adequate nurturing. When a new sibling arrives, the first child is unable to receive the full time and attention he needs.

In his article The Critical Importance of Mothering he states that "a three- or four-year spacing between children (the natural spacing of totally committed breastfeeding) tends to reap enormous emotional benefits to individual children. This allows children a position that will not be usurped by a younger sibling before they are capable of understanding it or before they are able to get by with less immediate attention to their needs."

Well maybe...our son was born five and a half years after our daughter and she is still jealous of him at times ... the princess was dethroned!!!

5-1/2 years is not a convenient spacing for the parents, that is for sure - I have a lot of complaints about it - we would have preferred ahout three years. But Mother Nature had other plans for us. 

 

 

 

 

I space my children at least six feet apart.  It prevents fighting.

Actually, our two were spaced three minutes apart, though I can't say we really chose that in advance.
 

janhunt:

In his article The Critical Importance of Mothering he states that "a three- or four-year spacing between children (the natural spacing of totally committed breastfeeding)

While there might well be plenty of evidence supporting that position, I suspect this guy's views on parenting would be vastly out of sync with mine if he defines "totally committed breastfeeding" as three to four years. Nothing against folks who choose that, of course.

At this point in my daughter's life, I am less interested in expert opinions based on many years of experience and more interested in expert opinions based on hard data. Years of anecdotal evidence, even from an expert, is still just anecdotal evidence.

That said, we actually are shooting for 3 year spacing. I'd prefer 4 years, but I'm 36 and want the sleepless nights over with sooner rather than later. I also get a little panicky over the increased Down's risk, even if it is still remote.