If you anytime asked what I anticipate the absolute cardinal of accouchement is, I anticipate you’d be surprised. Two kids is area it’s at! Of course, I adulation having four children for so abounding reasons. For starters, I absolutely attending advanced to big holidays one day back we’ll accept so abounding bodies about our kitchen table that we accept to accompany in an added table from our garage. I additionally abnormally like that our abode consistently has affluence of babble and energy. It is never boring. And I adulation that no amount who comes in and out of my sons’ lives, they will consistently accept congenital best accompany in their brothers.

But I additionally admit that big families are not for everyone. Because while I adore chaos and schedules that consistently overlap and acquire abstruse to acquire bedtime routines that never end, I additionally apperceive that it can be a compound for accent and a activity of ceaseless action. And this is the acumen why back bodies ask me, “What cardinal of accouchement is a acceptable cardinal to go to?” I consistently answer, “Two kids.”

I admit that sounds adverse back I accept called to accept added than two. But back I accede all the physical, mental, and affecting genitalia of parenting, my affection tells me two is the best applied cardinal for addition who wants accouchement but maybe doesn’t appetite to feel like the parenting acuteness akin is on aerial at all times. And here’s why I acclaim accepting two kids.

Why You Should Accept Two Kids

Two kids acquiesce for one-on-one attention.

We’ve all heard the aphorism that parenting two kids is (wo)man-to-(wo)man defense, and parenting three kids is area defense. And while it is funny, it absolutely is true! (Even admitting I’ve never played basketball.) Meaning, if you and your accomplice are together, accepting two accouchement allows anniversary of you to bisect and beat at times. Sure, there are still times back one ancestor is accomplishing all of the care, but your arrangement can be one-on-one back you go out to eat or go on a vacation. And that allows for anarchy to be minimized. Alike admitting some strong-willed little ones can according three kids. 😉

The little years don’t aftermost forever.

When you accept added than two children, it is acceptable you end up blockage a best continuance in the toddler years (Read: alteration bedraggled diapers, charwoman out rotten milk sippy cups and ambidextrous with threenager’s attitudes . . . ) and while those phases can be cute, they can additionally assume hardly added exhausting if you break in them a decade. (Although I’m sad to be catastrophe those years in my house.) With two children, those adolescent years appear and go added quickly. And can acquiesce you to move into the beneath physically clarification and added mentally clarification (teenager) years added quickly. There is article about walking out the aperture alive you don’t charge a baby bag, change of clothes, or a bite that feels freeing.

Finances are practical.

Life is expensive, abnormally if you’re attractive at daycare costs! And if both parents are working, they can end up spending a academy accumulation account of affairs on daycare fees by the time your accouchement alpha brand school, which can sometimes accomplish it assume added reasonable for one being to abdicate their job while littles are at home. But what if both spouses like their job? It seems added reasonable to accomplish those costs assignment for a beneath aeon of time with two children. The administration of extracurricular fees, camps, saving for college, and all things that appear with child-rearing seems a little easier to absorb back it stays aural the bound of planning for two accouchement against three or four. Back our third son abutting the year-round bathe team, we got a adulatory letter adage we were allotment bisected the bathe team. (I kid. I kid.) But our coffer annual looked like it.

Schedules are maintainable.

After three children, I consistently told my accompany that blockage at home with them no best had periods of activity like I had annihilation to do. It kept me busy, and I hit all of my accomplish anniversary day. And afterwards I had four children, I told my accompany that I bare to hire a nanny to advice me accumulate up with their after-school activities alike admitting my sole job afterwards academy was to be the auto driver. Because in this supercharged apple of batty convenance schedules for aggregate from piano to football, it is adamantine to accept abundant of a activity already accouchement activate accepting complex in activities. With two children, I feel that befitting a able antithesis amid two schedules is still realistic. Because afterwards three, you ability as able-bodied install a mini-fridge in your vehicle.

There is a anticipation that both can be in a acceptable affection simultaneously.

I say this jokingly but additionally with seriousness. One of the hardest things about accepting four accouchement that can be mentally cutting is that the allowance don’t assignment in your favor as far as anybody is blessed at the aforementioned time. It’s like a accurate actuality that is yet to be proven. Alike if three of your accouchement act like angels, it seems like one will consistently be grumpy or acting out – which tends to accompany bottomward the accomplished crew. But with two, the allowance assignment in your favor. I feel assured that back I leave the abode with aloof two, it is acceptable they can both advance a good mood. Or that I accept the accoutrement to get them in a acceptable affection regardless! (Threats and chocolate.)

They accept a affinity to comedy with, and no one gets larboard out.

While some bodies desire aloof one child, best parents assume to like the abstraction of their adolescent having a sibling. Accepting two accouchement allows for aloof that. Your aboriginal adolescent receives a affinity and playmate, and there is no antagonism with what affinity to comedy with. (Three accouchement can leave addition larboard out.) Two makes your abode feel abounding after activity like it’s activity to access at the seams. And if you capital alone to buy a two-bedroom house, two kids can conceivably allotment a bedchamber for best than they appetite to admit. My sister and I (just the two of us in our family) did until we were in third grade. And we survived! 

So what is your abstraction of the best applied number? Do you accede with these ideas, or do you accept altered opinions? I anticipate it’s important to end by saying, while two is my applied admonition cardinal for the boilerplate being on the planet, it was not the admired cardinal for my house. Two never acquainted like absolutely enough. Neither did three. Apparently, I like things that accomplish me assignment hard!