So, is four a lot easier?

mamarazzi

Please tell me it is.  PLEASE.

Goose51504

I sure as hell hope so. However, I'm guessing four presents a whole new set of challenges. So, yay us.

katie277s

I say yes.  Hang in there.  As they say....this too shall pass. 

*Amy*

At first I thought you meant four kids and I had missed a twin announcement! LOL 

I hope it is!

Kersbear

I thought 4 kids as well.   For us, right before 4 is when the attitude and stubborn-ness started. Prior to that Carter was so easy, now he's a handful.

melmax

Goose51504:

I sure as hell hope so. However, I'm guessing four presents a whole new set of challenges. So, yay us.

yup. this is what I was thinking.

docmay25

With my ds, it was.  The year of 3 was hell.  At age 3 he started not listening, yelling at me, telling me he hated me.  Every day.

At age four...he still had meltdowns BUT...they weren't every day, just every so often.  He would actually apoligize for his behavior and started to realize what he did wrong.  I could give him a warning and "got it"...that if he didn't stop, he would have a consequence. 

He isn't perfect, but he sits in time out only about once a month, if that.  I have a 3 year old dd who is giving me hell right now and I keep telling myself to stay firm and strong and this will pass.

CTFandme

I was talking to a client at work and she has a 4 year old. this is how she described it to me.

one is well, one. then you have the terrible twos, the trying threes and the F'ing fours.  So... mine isn't 4 yet, but it doesn't sound any easier to me. good luck. 

mamarazzi

CTFandme:

I was talking to a client at work and she has a 4 year old. this is how she described it to me.

one is well, one. then you have the terrible twos, the trying threes and the F'ing fours.  So... mine isn't 4 yet, but it doesn't sound any easier to me. good luck. 

fvck.

jettagurl

Ha!  I thought at first you meant 4 kids, and that you were pg (with twins)!  LOL!  

I hope so too.  DS will be 4 on Friday, and he's been remarkably better for the last month or so.  Natalie, now 2.5 has since taken over the 'terror child' position.  I'm about to ship her off to boarding preschool as we speak! 

Glendi2.0

I think it's a lot easier, but then again, I'm pretty sure DD#1 worked out all her sh!t during her third year. She's still a ball-buster, but she's WAY more reasonable about it now.

Her 2.5-year-old sister, on the other hand... ikes.

Angela814

We had my almost 3yo niece here a couple weekends ago, and it was so frustrating. I'd say half the time I was thinking how great DD was now that she's almost 4. She was sooo good. Then my niece left, and DD started acting up again. Mostly it's the not listening that drives me nuts. And the times she doesn't listen are when I'm in a hurry and running late. It's like she somehow senses that. But she was great over the weekend too, so I'm thinking 4 is going to be much better than 3.

marchbaby

Don't want to scare you but so far four has been the worst age for us!  I call them the "f*cking fours" and they got nothing on the terrible twos!

lsufan

LOL at the F'ing Fours.

I don't know, so far I think it has more to do with their personalities.  From 3.5 to 4 was a breeze for Evan, but now he's whiny and doesn't listen.  He very rarely has a temper tantrum, but when he does, watch out.  But he's my easy kid.

My 2.5 year old has an intense personality.  He's either really happy and cooperative, or he's really upset and defiant.  He goes through multiple cycles of that each day.  I can only imagine what he'll be like at 3.

MrsOlson

YES!!! We started to get better a couple of months before 4. Hang in there!

Jodi&Joe

It's different.  Not as frustrating but not necessarily better.  Hhmmmm....

I think three is SO hard because it's when most kids are testing you to the limits.  Yet they don't quite comprehend the "punishments" that go along with that.  At four, they get it.  So it makes it less frustrating.  So it's not that their not pushing your buttons anymore, it's that you (general) for more equipped to handle it.  You've had a whole year of dealing with it under your belt.

So basically, three lays the groundwork for four.  If you have done your job when they are three, four will be easier.  They will know a bit more what to expect --- and so will you.

I, personally, just don't like parenting all that much so 4 and 5 (and I imagine 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, etc) will all suck! 

jlw2505

My older DD will be 4 in 2 months and I can say that she is already easier than she was at 3 although the challenges change but they seem easier to deal with - way less tantrums but when she does have them, they are huge!  So far though, I am liking 4 and we are not even really there yet.

shopgirl78

I thought the end of 3 was easy and so four would be fabulous.  We went through some tough phases at 4:  I can't do it (for things they have done in a while), whining, DRAMA surrounding their friends (so so isn't my friend) and the verbal diary still gets me.   Those phases are phasing out now though...DD is getting her 6 yr molars and that has lead to some crankiness