As children get older, they require less care, and by the age of three, the majority are less dependent, demanding, and challenging. Having children that are close in age implies that you will be quite busy caring for their needs for a large portion of the time in the short term. It is important to consider your own needs too. Ageing parents need support too, especially if one of them has reduced their working hours or stopped work altogether. Children grow up so fast these days! Although they may not seem it, from about the age of nine months old, babies start to understand what is going on around them and begin to respond to their world with curiosity and enthusiasm. By eighteen months old, they are starting to recognize their family members and form attachments to some people more than others. They also like to show off their skills to anyone who will watch - from rolling over onto its back to playing with toys, babies learn very quickly. Between the ages of two and four, children develop more rapidly than before. They begin to talk more, and they learn how to walk without falling over every few steps. They also have their first experiences of school and make some friends there. From about five or six years old, children become more independent, but they still need supervision because of their ability to get into trouble even though they are nearly grown-up.