My kids are all very close in age and whole dealing with toddlers while pregnant/dealing with newborns is exhausting, now that my youngest is 2 they all play together wonderfully and are best buddies.
Myself, I have a brother 7 years older & one 15 months younger. Growing up I was much closer with my younger brother because we were close in age.
I think it depends on your first kid(s). My first is very clingy, so I wanted her to be at least a little older and more independent before we started trying. Also, you donāt necessarily get a chance to choose- your goal may be kids 2 years apart, but it could take over a year just to conceive. Iām trying to be flexible and keep an open mind about it.
Well I think it depends on a number of factors.
I always wanted mine close together for a number of reasons (one of which was that Iām already almost 36). We had our first son in [name_u]December[/name_u] last year after a long battle with infertility. I got on top of a few health issues, and we were successfully able to conceive naturally. After [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] was born, we talked and figured we would just āsee what happensā so to speak. We knew we wanted more than one child, and being that Iām older, and have high-risk pregnancies (and didnāt know how long it might take us to conceive again) we figured we couldnāt really put a set time frame on TTC again. Well, I am now around 6 weeks pregnant with our second child (exact date to be confirmed at a scan next week). If my math is correct, and this next baby doesnāt arrive early, [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] will be a little over 13 months when his sibling arrives. Iāll have my hands full, but I honestly wouldnāt have it any other way.
I think whatever happens, you learn to cope. Lots of parents have kids super close in age, and itās tough when theyāre really young, but it gets easier. Thereās 4 years between my older brother and I, because my Mum couldnāt fall pregnant. We get along fine, but I want my kids to grow up close together and (hopefully) become great friends.
I also like the idea of having my kids close together, so that you go through similar stages at the same time (get the nappies, potty training etc done at pretty much the same time). Also, if they are close, they are at similar developmental stages, so you can do the same activities together. Those are just my thoughts anyway.
I am the oldest of six. My sister is 22m younger than me and we are super close. I am five years apart from my next sister. Then seven, then fourteen, then sixteen. I feel like I connect with all of them. In different ways, of course. I can talk to my first two sisters about things that we relate on, but I feel connected with my baby sister too. We still have a bond. I would say close is awesome, but a big gap isnāt a terrible thing. 
Personally, I think I wouldnt want to go more than 10 years apart. My sister and I are 4 years a part and weāre very close.
My younger brother and I are 13 months apart and we are not close whatsoever.
My older brother and I are 6 years apart and we are best friends. We are twins practically and Iām so glad heās in my life. It feels like I only have one sibling.
Itās probably because my older brother and I, despite the age difference, are in a similar place in life and similar maturity level. Although sometimes he acts like a dad to me haha
Our younger brother is 20 going on 12. And it could be that he feels overshadowed by me, but Iāve always gone out of my way to prevent that. Itās his own issue now.
Honestly, I think itās been just a bad experience being 13 months apart with my sibling. I wouldnāt recommend it if you can help it. Thereās too much jealousy, grudge-holding, fighting over friends/belongings, attention competition, etc.
I think the best gap is 3 or 4 years.
My sister and I are four years apart and I think itās the perfect amount. We donāt have to be in middle school or high school together (all of the sibling groups I know have hated that), but we can still be friends. Itās far enough apart that I can give her advice and help her through things because Iāve experienced them, but close enough that we could grow up together and play together as kids and we can still relate to each other now. Most of the siblings I know that are a year or so apart absolutely hate each other, and all the ones that are many years apart arenāt close. The closest siblings I know other than my sister & I are also four years apart. Iām sure there are siblings close in age that are good friends or far apart and good friends but I havenāt experienced many! The closest siblings I know that donāt have a gap are twins.
I planned on 2 years between my children, but it turned out they are only 14 months apart. It was difficult and exhausting when they were little, but I wouldnāt change it for anything! They are both in the same stage of life and I like that.
Iād say maybe two to three years is ideal. I personally donāt have any siblings, but I know a lot of people that have anywhere from six to twelve years between siblings, and they arenāt close at all. Thereās also a lot of jealousy between them (the parents usually have a favorite), and one kid usually ends up neglected. However, this may work for others, this is just my personal experience.
Mine are two minutes apart. So I guess I prefer them pretty darn close.
I donāt think thereās a specific ideal age gap between siblings. However, I lean more towards a small gap, around 2-3 years. I have boys 3 years apart. My 1-year-old son spends most of his time in brotherās room but in his own playard (https://www.best-pack-n-play.com/cheap-playard/). He enjoyes watching his older mate 
I think Iād probably want about 4 years or so between them, but Iām coming up on 30 now and we still arenāt sure when we want to TTC so what do I know?
[name_m]Even[/name_m] so, I think Iād prefer the older child to have some independence established before introducing a sibling; I donāt think Iām made of the sort of stuff required to get through two under two. I donāt think that necessarily sacrifices closeness, either - my brother and I are 2 years and 10 months apart, and while weāll always have each otherās backs, weāre not particularly close, and sometimes go months without seeing one another, which is fine for us. My husbandās sister is 2 years younger than him, as well, and while theyāve always gotten along, theyāve especially bonded in adulthood over the losses of their parents.
Conversely, my sister is 12 years younger than me and weāve always been close, and while itās true that being in such different stages of life keeps us from interacting regularly, I think our relationship will get even better as she comes into adulthood with me and we can finally do āadultyā things together.
At the end of the day, no amount of planning and/or wishful thinking will guarantee that two distinct humans will get along with one another, and no one knows how life may demand our relationships change over time, so I figure Iād rather not stress about it and retain some of my sanity by managing one at a time!
Iām not a parent, but I thought this might be relevant. I have 4 half-siblings, but only consistently lived with one growing up. My sister, [name_f]Katie[/name_f], is 10 and a half years older than I am. It was definitely a big gap, but we got along fantastically and continue to do so. Sure, we argued sometimes and she sometimes picked on me, and Iād sneak into parties with her friends when they were around, etc. But she also taught me a lot, always was there to help me out, and always made me feel safe when I had anxiety attacks. There were times when she was the only person who could calm me down. Additionally, she had her first kid when I was 9, and her second when I was 11. When I was in 6th grade I used to babysit them for her when I came home so she could have a break for a bit until our parents came home to help out. It was truly an awesome experience. To this day, she and I can trust each other with things weād never tell anyone else, and we still have a very strong bond, and Iāve got a strong bond with her kids, too. This probably seems mostly like me just rambling, but I wanted to post this just to say that large age gaps can be really great, too, and so you shouldnāt worry if youāre not ready or donāt want to have kids really close together but are worried about their bond. Itās amazing how strong sibling love can be, even with a large age gap.
I would love to have a big family because they seem more fun. Lots of things going on around the house at once, and my dream is to be that house on the block that always hosts parties, the kids come over. Then again, my dream is to be a stay at home mom and Iāve yet to find a fiance. I have one brother three and a half years younger and the house would always be very quiet. I would like having at least three children. Four is my ideal number, five the max. Since it is dangerous to have children after your mid thirties, I would have to plan to end my last pregnancy around thirty five. So the spacing between children is less an issue for me than the actual number of children. But of course I would have to rest after Iāve given birth to allow all my tissues to heal and Iām not going to do anything that would hurt me. I would also like to lose a little weight before taking on another child. In general though, I think eight years is the maximum age difference I would allow between the youngest child and the baby-to-be.
I had planned on two years apart, but my kids are 14 months apart. I wouldnāt change it! I had them on the same schedule and it was very difficult, but they have always been friends. They loved playing together.
I was happy when we were done with bottles and diapers, and even happier knowing I would never have to do it again!
However, that was me. I donāt think thereās a magic number for everyone, just like the # of children is different for each family. You have do whatās best for you, your situation and your family.
My sister and I are just over 2 years apart and weāve always been thick as thieves.
My husband has 4 sisters with age gaps of between 18 months and 4 years.
We had our daughter in [name_u]July[/name_u] of last year and I am pregnant again. We wanted to have our kids close in age after ttc for 3 years. Our kids would wind up 15 months apart. Itās close, I know, and it will be difficult at times I canāt wait to see them be each otherās best friend.
Iām hoping for around two years-ish between little humans. From my experience with other peopleās children, this seems like a solid, healthy age gap and the children seem to have a great bond with each other. My sister and I have a massive gap, and I honestly think it effected our relationship negatively. I felt a lot of pressure to be āthe adultā and a mothering figure for her, we were never just āequal siblingsā. I really donāt want that for my children, but you never know with fertility. So weāll see.
2 to 4 years for me. (Although sometimes 2 seems pretty quick to be popping out another one lol!)
I think two to three years between each child is great.
Me and my sister are two years, two months, and 20 days apartā¦thatās not bad just a lot of times we get put into the same age group for EVERYTHING which is a bit annoying
[name_f]My[/name_f] sons will be just over 2 years apart. I expect that to be a good age range between them, far enough to be separate but close enough to play well together.
I have a sister who is 3 years older, but my brother and I are only 11 months apart. Not only could I not imagine juggling two pregnancies and babies so close together, but there was a lot of tension and competition between us. It wasnāt until we got older that we became such close friends.
On the other end of the spectrum, my husband has a brother who is 14 years younger. Their connection is totally different.