Weve all heard of the terrible twos.
But what about the fun fives?
A new British survey found most parents feel their child is the most fun at age 5, according to Yahoo! News. In fact, the survey, which interviewed 2,000 moms and dads, said 40 percent of parents thought age 5 was the most fun because their children started to communicate properly and had a good sense of humor, Yahoo! News reported.
This is when a child becomes a fully contained person, Fran Walfish, a California child and family psychotherapist told Yahoo. Theyve developed self-soothing behaviors and frustration tolerance, so they arent as prone to tantrums.
Five-year-olds have also started to become more independent and require less attention, which comes as a welcome relief for some parents, Yahoo! News reported.
They get jokes, they tell jokes, they can give and take, and they respond reasonably well to discipline and direction, Walfish told Yahoo! News. Theyre also emotionally open they tell you what theyre thinking and feeling.
And Phil Chamberlain, the director of policy and communications for the Youth Sport Trust, which conducted the study, said 5-year-olds tend to be more active, which improves their behaviors and outlook on life, making them a joy to be around, according to the Daily Mail.
We know that active children learn better and faster, and have an improved sense of belonging the link between being active and good physical and emotional health is widely acknowledged, Chamberlain said. There is no question that regular activity produces healthy, happy, academically successful and socially adept young people, with confidence and high self-esteem.
But the fun doesnt last another five years for parents. The survey found most parents see the ages of 10 to 12 as the most difficult when rearing a child, according to Yahoo!
Parents said in the survey that they often struggle dealing with preteens because those youngsters are emotionally hard to reach, and sometimes can be disrespectful, defiant and challenging, Yahoo! reported.
Preteens and teens may also be distracted by their social lives, since they concern themselves with technological devices and social media more than ways of having fun, as seen in this chart.
Still, families can find some fun during those years, too, according to Ally Fogg, a journalist of The Guardian.
Treasure those moments because within months those little doting faces will be sneering down from a great height, wearily amused by your incompetence and decrepitude and treating your puny efforts to manage modernity, technology and mortality with the contempt and derision they so surely deserve, Fogg wrote.
In fact, Fogg wrote that its important to embrace your childs life, no matter what age, since parenting should always be an enjoyable experience.
The other perfect age is 13, when the flowering of adulthood brings a new kind of relationship, like the best friendship you ever had, Fogg wrote. It just so happens my kids are 7 and 13, and if you had asked me this question last year, Id have said 6 and 12; ask me next, Ill say 8 and 14. Every year of parenthood is a new challenge and a new terror and some whole new kind of fun. If Im not enjoying it, Im doing it wrong.
But what about the fun fives?
A new British survey found most parents feel their child is the most fun at age 5, according to Yahoo! News. In fact, the survey, which interviewed 2,000 moms and dads, said 40 percent of parents thought age 5 was the most fun because their children started to communicate properly and had a good sense of humor, Yahoo! News reported.
This is when a child becomes a fully contained person, Fran Walfish, a California child and family psychotherapist told Yahoo. Theyve developed self-soothing behaviors and frustration tolerance, so they arent as prone to tantrums.
Five-year-olds have also started to become more independent and require less attention, which comes as a welcome relief for some parents, Yahoo! News reported.
They get jokes, they tell jokes, they can give and take, and they respond reasonably well to discipline and direction, Walfish told Yahoo! News. Theyre also emotionally open they tell you what theyre thinking and feeling.
And Phil Chamberlain, the director of policy and communications for the Youth Sport Trust, which conducted the study, said 5-year-olds tend to be more active, which improves their behaviors and outlook on life, making them a joy to be around, according to the Daily Mail.
We know that active children learn better and faster, and have an improved sense of belonging the link between being active and good physical and emotional health is widely acknowledged, Chamberlain said. There is no question that regular activity produces healthy, happy, academically successful and socially adept young people, with confidence and high self-esteem.
But the fun doesnt last another five years for parents. The survey found most parents see the ages of 10 to 12 as the most difficult when rearing a child, according to Yahoo!
Parents said in the survey that they often struggle dealing with preteens because those youngsters are emotionally hard to reach, and sometimes can be disrespectful, defiant and challenging, Yahoo! reported.
Preteens and teens may also be distracted by their social lives, since they concern themselves with technological devices and social media more than ways of having fun, as seen in this chart.
Still, families can find some fun during those years, too, according to Ally Fogg, a journalist of The Guardian.
Treasure those moments because within months those little doting faces will be sneering down from a great height, wearily amused by your incompetence and decrepitude and treating your puny efforts to manage modernity, technology and mortality with the contempt and derision they so surely deserve, Fogg wrote.
In fact, Fogg wrote that its important to embrace your childs life, no matter what age, since parenting should always be an enjoyable experience.
The other perfect age is 13, when the flowering of adulthood brings a new kind of relationship, like the best friendship you ever had, Fogg wrote. It just so happens my kids are 7 and 13, and if you had asked me this question last year, Id have said 6 and 12; ask me next, Ill say 8 and 14. Every year of parenthood is a new challenge and a new terror and some whole new kind of fun. If Im not enjoying it, Im doing it wrong.