Using Grandparents as Baby-sitters

Free Child Care is A Valuable Resource for Parents of Young Children

Jul 23, 2009 Pauline Mascarenhas

For parents with a young family, grandparents can be a very valuable source of free child care. However, it is important to remember not to take advantage of them.

The knowledge that the chosen baby-sitter can be trusted to care for the children is what gives the parents peace-of-mind when leaving them. Therefore, if children are with their grandparents, then the question of caring does not even arise. If one cannot trust grandparents, then who can be trusted? More often than not grandparents are happy to provide this service for free.

In the current economy, when family budgets are stretched to the limit, more and more mothers with young children may be opting to return to the workforce and looking for child care facilities. If one is lucky enough to have grandparents who can fill this role, it is important to manage the process carefully.

Communicating with Grandparents About Child Care Requirements

For regular, long-term requirements it is necessary to find out how the arrangement can work for all parties.

  • Always ask first. Never take for granted that the grandparents will take care of the children when the mother returns to work.
  • Remember to involve the grandfather as well as the grandmother in the discussions.
  • Find out what their weekly routine is and see if it is convenient for them to fit in child-care without disrupting their established routine.
  • Ascertain their preference for the location of child-care, i.e. the grandparents' home or the children's home. It is possible that the grandparents may wish to do the baby-sitting in the children's home because of the easy access to the children's cloths, toys, toiletries, baby food, etc.
  • If there are two sets of grandparents involved, find out if they are willing to share the baby-sitting duties. If one set of grandparents is not asked, they may feel slighted.

When ad hoc baby-sitting is required, find out if they are free on the day well in advance. Don't expect them to change their plans at the last moment.

Showing Appreciation for Baby-sitting and Child Care

  • Never take for granted that getting to spend time with their grandchildren is all the thanks the grandparents need.
  • Don't limit the time the children spend with the grandparents to those "baby-sitting" times only. Ask the grandparents whether they would like to spend time with the whole family when not on baby-sitting duties.
  • Apart from the more formal times of Christmas, birthdays, etc., involve the grandparents in family times on other days. For instance asking them over for a meal for no particular reason will make them feel welcome.

Depending on the family budget, an occasional gift as a small token of appreciation will go a long way to making grandparents feel valued.

Making Child Care and/or Baby-sitting Stress Free and Rewarding

With good communication between parents and grandparents and some simple thoughtful gestures by parents, child care and baby-sitting by grandparents can be a very valuable resource for the parents and a rewarding experience for the grandparents, not to mention the many advantages to the children themselves.

The copyright of the article Using Grandparents as Baby-sitters in Parenting Resources is owned by Pauline Mascarenhas. Permission to republish Using Grandparents as Baby-sitters in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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