"Hurtful, spiteful and nasty." 14 mums share their kids' honest 'worst age.'

Of course you love them with all of your soul, but sometimes, just sometimes, those little humans you share a home with can be absolute menaces. 

Sometimes they can be absolute menaces for a couple of...years. 

They eventually grow out of it of course. They always do.

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But that doesn't exactly help when you're knee deep in tantrums or sulkiness or just plain... meanness. 

But every child is different, and while some 12-year-old's (aka me, sorry mum) yell "DON'T GET OUT OF THE CAR MUM, YOU'RE SO EMBARRASSING," others are sweet sweet angels only to turn, suddenly, to the dark side at age 15.

We asked a bunch of Mamamia mums to tell us the absolute honest truth about which age, from newborn to teenager, has been the absolute worst.

Here's what they told us:

Stacey.

In my opinion three years old is the worst, and we’re slowly outgrowing it as we get closer to four. 

So many big feelings at this age, and it’s the time when you really decide what kind of parent you want to be in regards to proper discipline. I went down the line of gentle disciple and oh my god the patience I found it takes is sometimes exhausting.

Then you have the constant questions, 'why?', 'who?', 'how does this work?' And the need to be heard and responded to immediately and not understanding the need to wait. I could go on...

Danina.

I think the year between 2.5-3.5 is the worst (so far). 

The best was one-2.5. When my daughter was two, I used to think 'wow, the terrible twos aren’t a thing, she’s such a delight' and then BAM at 2.5 she had all the emotions (I even got bitten on the ear!) with several meltdowns a day. 

From three-3.5 it got worse because she became more committed to what she wanted. So many meltdowns. It was so rough. 

She’s 4.5 now and I think she’s been out of it for close to 12 months. We still have some huffing and puffing and foot stamping moments but nothing compared to her three-year-old self. On the plus side, it’s really helped me savour the newborn stage with my son. I know what’s ahead, so the sleepless nights and fussy evenings are nothing compared to the s*itstorm that will hit when he’s a three-year-old.

Megan.

Birth to one year was the absolute worst. There was just no sleep to be had. By anyone. It's just a hazy blur of fatigue, pain, vomit, leaking milk and crying.

I have heard that if you have sleeping babies, this age is quite delightful. But that was not my experience at all.

I have loved the two-five age. It has flown by too quickly.

Kiri.

The first four months were the hardest for us. Our baby had reflux and a sore head from the forceps so she screamed/wanted to be held 24/7. It was exhausting. 

I couldn't leave the house most days because she just screamed so much people would stare. I could also never put her down to play on a mat or do tummy time because she would get so distressed that she would vomit. Then at five months she grew out of it and things got better. 

Toddlers are hard, but at least she doesn't cry and vomit non-stop.

Bree.

Definitely the first six months - cluster feeding, witching hour, breastfeeding issues, the frequency of feeds, not sleeping through the night, reflux, not being able to tell you what they want.

So much better when they can sleep through the night, feed themselves and communicate.

Emma. 

We’re currently in the thick of the terrible twos....SEND HELP! He’s full of emotion but lacks the skills to communicate them. One minute he is a cute cuddly bear and the next he is having a full-blown meltdown because I made a purple smoothie instead of a green one.

Jane.

My children are 3.5 and one. But I found with both of them the newborn stage was truly horrendous.

My mental health was up s*it creek. I didn’t understand them. I didn’t bond with them and I hated, hated breastfeeding and all the pressure that went with it.

I’m not saying every day is sunshine and lollipops now. But I feel like I understand them better and I don't just love them - I like them too.

Marie. 

I found different ages difficult at times but NOTHING compares to 13 and 14. I had good sleepers so apart from the usual sleep deprivation that was good. Toddlers were hard sometimes. Primary school was the best. I’ve got one teen now and a tween. Not sure I’ll survive high school. My almost 14-year-old knows EVERYTHING, runs on his own snail paced schedule, and everything that scares me or I think is inappropriate is hilarious to him. 

Hoping the 11-year-old girl has some more common sense.

Anna.

Okay so shoot me but mine are 17 and 15 and we haven’t had a worst stage yet...

Gemma.

FOUR. My gorgeous four-year-old daughter gave herself a full on mullet last week. She is needy, frustratingly stubborn and independent.

Sarah. 

Four. Their vocabulary and understanding increases significantly which means attitude, talking back and arguing. My sweet, sweet, snuggly boy turned four in June and is an absolute monster at the moment.

His older brother went through the same thing but once he hit five, he changed just as quickly as he did at four. I now have a little girl who already has a teenage sized attitude at 14 months so pray for me.

Anne-Marie.

I cried bucket loads in the late teen years 16-19. They were hurtful, spiteful and nasty. They say they come back, and they do, but they were my hardest years. 

Klare.

Three. She found her voice, started talking back and got all sassy. Her attitude went through the roof. She's five now and the attitude and opinions have not gone but you can talk to and explain things to a five-year-old. At three they don't care what you're saying. I'm dreading her becoming a teenager.

Leanne.

Six year olds starting prep. Not being able to communicate about what was wrong and being so tired caused massive meltdowns.

Feature image: Getty.