What age would you choose?

12. At that age they are still innocents, relatively unscathed from the harshness of the world around them, but very capable little men who are a riot to do things with and watch them explore and learn the world around them. I look back at my now 14 yr old and all the truly fun and remarkable things he did at 12 yrs old and now at my 11 yr old soon to be 12 who is still just a little kid knowing how the next year will impact his and my life. A truly great time of life 12 is.

The age of 5 has always been my favorite, having raised (still raising) 3 children. They are 7, 16 and 18 now. At the age of 5 they are old enough to have very funny and interesting conversations with, they are very inquisitive, old enough to wipe their own butt and they still like to cuddle. Never underestimate the power of a good cuddle with a young one! Priceless.

The age were they still believe in Santa Claus and still think I have all the answers.

4 years old. They were like sponges and could still understand some pretty deep concepts. I taught my sons about communication satellites and pointed them out in the night sky. They got it.
Also at that age they are not embarrassed to hug or crawl into bed with you. Nice.

Although 22 was pretty good, too. They could feed themselves and always kept the computers and electronics working up to snuff – like having your own IT service.

I’m with you @worriedguy 4 is my favorite :)

Oh gee – that’s a tough question. There’s so much that’s good about each age (although 15 had its moments.) Three to seven was quite wonderful, but now 28 and 30 are wonderful too. I wish I had a magic wand so that I could temporarily have them revert to any age I wished.

I love babies…. they smell gorgeous, they’re cute, and I love that they are so dependant on you for everything, and they look so funny crawling backwards and forwards, and when they find their voices for the first time…. Ah.. it’s the best!
Yep, Year 1 is definately my favourite.

At the age where they still reach out to hold my hand…..Broke my heart when my 12 year old sibling refused to hold my hand ;( but I understand….I still got my 9 year old tho:)..I’m dreading the day they begin to get brave enough to talk back to me >_< grr…

@Loried2008 And they are out of diapers.

@worriedguy Exactly! Mine’s only two months and I love her to death this age but I can’t wait to see her little wheels turning :) walking and more importantly using the bathroom on her own! I get what @misstrikcy is saying though, it’s a great feeling to know they depend on you so much.

Well,if I had children,I would pick the age of 38.
That is about the time when Junior would turn off the internet,walk upstairs and announce that he will be living upstairs with the rest of us!
Yes,38. A mother’s dream ;)

Are we talking about children as in not adults? Or are we talking about children as in their relationship to us? I.e., once I have a child, that child is always my child, no matter how old any of us are. I was assuming that it was the former, but many people are answering as if it is the latter.

I was going to say that my oldest is 14, so I don’t yet know what my favorite age is. All I can do is rule out anything under… maybe the age of six or seven. I have been enjoying them more now that they can think about more sophisticated ideas. Dinner time is so much more fun now. And everyone often lingers after the meal is over because we’re having fun.

If childhood ends at age sixteen or eighteen or twenty-one…. I have a feeling I’ll enjoy the older ages better. I just like it when they are doing things and they can talk about that, and we don’t have to be responsible for taking care of everything.

I am sticking at my current age of 5!

singing….We Don’t wanna grow up

Impossible, as I love my daughter even more now at 23 than 3.

But…I totally cherished the early years, I loved 4. A great age! Kids are so eager to learn, have yet to lose their magical qualities. My daughter and I used to put on our backpacks and go for long nature hikes and hide in the bushes waiting to see animals. She would dictate stories to me that I would write and was so enthusiastic about every moment of life.

4 was a great age.

@wundayatta Well I only have a baby, but I know what it’s like to have all ages around because I have so many sisters (right now ages 17, 15, 13, 10, 8, and 5) I suppose I should have just asked what’s your favorite age in general rather than exclude people without children or people who only have a certain age child.

i think maybe from 4–10 that age was enchanting not to mention the glorious and hang up free sexual awakening.

35

It is not my goal to raise good children, but rather to raise good adults.

Agree with everyone else that each age has had it’s own unique advantages (though, I don’t see too many folks saying: 14! Yes, let me have them mouthy, hungry and chock full of hormones!).. but I’m going to go with age 5.
It was like age 4 (still all sweet and lovey dovey..and learning new words and concepts constantly) but was old enough for our youngest to be in all day every day Kindergarten. (I’m thinking of child care expenses – sorry!)

1.5

I would decline the offer and let them grow up. But if I was forced, it would be the years (10–11) that I coached them in rec football and basketball. Great fun!

I would say four or five.
They are very inquisitive, have so much to learn but are still innocent.
Ah… memories…

Children always want to be older than they are, I wouldn’t want to deny them that wish.

Pretty much any age between when you have to change their diaper every 3 hours and teenager emo phase.

I would just like to say, that I LOVE KIDS SO MUCH!!!

I’ll take 4 and 5. In fact I did. I have three children in their twenties, and now teach preschool. Wow I love that job!

@geeky_mama

Heh, yeah…nobody has said 14. haha

14–18 sucked with my daughter, pretty typical. lol

OMG….I just quit shopping with her for about 3 years. It was baaaad, she was so bitchy all the time. hahahaha

I agree with 5. For all the reasons @jonsblond said.

I liked the way I looked at 25, but I remember my life was a mess then. If I could leave the mess behind, that is my choice.