What are your fondest memories of your grandparents? I loved spending every weekend with mine at their house lounging on the hammock {indoors} watching Rugrats while they served me breakfast and iced coffee. Yes, I drank iced coffee at 7-years-old; it was definitely a different time. What I’ve observed lately from my friends’ experiences and my own, is that times have changed the role of grandparents.
The knitting grandma smiling behind gold framed glasses are no more. Our parents are retiring at older ages and when they finally do, they just want to live their best lives. We get it grandparents. We just ask that you stop wanting to ONLY do the fun stuff and remember some things…
Being a Parent is HARD
Do you remember the constant worrying and sleepless nights? That will forever be a quality of parenthood. Now add the information overload accessible through tablets and phones. We are up going through Pinterest looking for outfits because schools LOVE themed days or trying to figure out which sippy cup is the safest. We might not ask for it but we need help. We might not ask if you can bring dinner sometime or watch our children for half a day, but we desperately need it. Between keeping these kids healthy and alive, worrying about BPA leakage, and what to do {not involving a TV} indoors when it “feels like” 110 degrees outside…being a parent is HARD. So help us with the not-so-fun stuff sometime, we would greatly appreciate it.
You’re not just the grandparent. You’re still our parent, and we still need you.
Grandparents Giving Gifts:: Stick to the List
A few weeks ago I decided I needed a bigger home because my one-year-old’s things were taking over the living room. After stressing over market value and which suburb was the most family friendly, I realized, we don’t need a bigger home…HE needs LESS crap! No kid needs 25 stuffed animals or 3 bags of the SAME lego kit. Please, we beg of you, please stop buying toys for birthdays and Christmas if we asked for gift cards and museum memberships. For the older kids, one reasonable present each kid is enough. We are trying to avoid unintentionally turning our children into entitled adults who expect $500 cowboy boots who scoff because we took too long getting them. I’ve been hearing about the rule of 3 for gifts:: a gift to wear, a gift to read, and a gift to play. Seems reasonable enough.
We Have Rules For a Reason
I’ve been told being a grandparent is much more fun than being a parent. Who doesn’t believe that? Getting to hang out with cute kids doing fun activities and then still getting to sleep in because they aren’t there in the morning? SIGN ME UP! No one is telling you to stop giving them cookies and ice cream. All we ask is that grandparents modify their fun time a tiny bit. Let them watch TV but please also interact with them during or limit how many lemon bars they can have {juvenile diabetes and child obesity are very real!}. We used to be scared of monsters but now we are scared of school shootings and virtual bullies. Help us out a little and lessen our load of adult nightmares.
To the grandparents who take the kids for the weekend or even just a few hours, we thank you. To all the grandparents out there, we thank you for simply giving us life. Without you, there would’ve never been them, and they are the best little copies of us ever to exist.