Try This Family Age Chart That Shows 'Minsan Lang Sila Bata'

Minsan lang sila bata.

This phrase is sometimes an overused excuse before we check out our shopping carts of kids' clothes and expensive toys or book that plane ticket for our family trip. But in reality, our kids grow up fast—so fast that our phones can barely hold all the photos and videos capturing their daily milestones. 

Just this morning, my six-month-old, who recently started eating solids, learned to sit on his own. Meanwhile, my firstborn, who was once a tiny 34-week-old preemie, is now off on a field trip with her Kinder classmates. We get so caught up in the daily grind—our work, chores, and doing it all—that we often forget to cherish the now.

But what if there was a simple way to visualize our precious years with our children?

A Family Age Chart that puts everything into perspective

On Threads, Thom Gibson of Work From Home Dads shared a thought-provoking chart he found in a book: a family age chart, where parents can see their ages alongside their kids' ages over the next 40 years. 

Reflecting on it, Gibson wrote, "What year would they be done with diapers? What years would be prime for family trips? What year do they become empty nesters? Talk about perspective."

The Family Age Chart: A Powerful Parenting Tool

The chart comes from Habits of the Household, a book by Justin Whitmel Earley that offers practical tools for parents to create meaningful family structures and routines—from mealtimes to bedtimes—and cherish more tender moments with their children.

In an Instagram reel, Earley explained how creating a Family Age Chart can be an emotional yet eye-opening experience for parents, "If you're a parent you have to do this. It takes five minutes and it's gonna give you like five decades worth of realizations."

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A post shared by Justin Whitmel Earley (@justinwhitmelearley)

Try making your own Family Age Chart

Grab a journal or a blank sheet of paper and create three columns:

Column 1: Years: Write down the next 20-40 years.
Column 2: Parents' Ages: Write your and your spouse's names, and list your ages for each year.
Column 3: Children's Ages: Write your child’s name and age in the corresponding years.

Once you're done, grab a tissue and take a moment with your spouse to look at it. This chart lays out your time together at home—the diaper years, the nap time years, the family trips, the teenage phase, and the year they leave the house.

Earley reminds us that getting lost in daily routines is easy, but seeing the big picture can change how we approach parenting.

Hang it on the fridge as a reminder. "Remember you don't have forever to love your children, but you do have today. So go find one of them tell them you love them and then live today on purpose," Earley concluded.

I Made Our Family Age Chart. Here's What I Realized

I made our family age chart while my baby napped and my eldest played with Lego. As I wrote down our ages, I thought this would be our reality. In about five years, we'll have two children in school. By the time my husband and I are in our 50s, we'll have two teenagers. And when we're seniors, we might be empty nesters. Noooo.

So, as Earley said, I'm going to savor the moment, cherish my children's littleness, and give them all the love I can. There are only a few years when they will be my priority because in just a couple of years, I'll have all the free time, a tidy house, a booming career, and a quiet home all to myself. I will surely miss the chaos, the Lego pieces on the floor, and the stain of squash on my two-day-old shirt. 

I stumbled upon this quote, which I now use as my phone wallpaper: "This is not your practice life. This is all there is." 

Let that sink in.

If you create your family's age chart, post it on your Instagram stories and tag us at @smartparenting and #SmartParentingMadeMeDoIt.