Looking after Grandchild

VfM4meplse

The important thing is that you have weekly schedule and try to stick to it as far as possible.

So breakfast, morning activity / walk, lunch, afternoon nap (very important for catching up with chores), gentle play and tea before mum comes back. Or if you feel the need to exact revenge, send your grandchild home hyper and watch its mum and dad suffer

I too think that you are being a very generous grandparent. It's knackering at any age, and don't expect to get a minute to yourself whilst your grandchild is awake!

Jagraf

slowcoachme wrote: »

I am looking after grandchild , full time from 8am to 7pm 5 days a week. Anyone else do this?
I'm recently retired so have the time and offered to do this but only till the end of the year when I expect other arrangements to be made. Grandchild is 2.5 years old. What do you do with them all day? Do you get paid?

Mine was in full time nursery by this age, you are an absolute angel

[Deleted User]

I too am amazed at what you are doing.

Try and make it as much fun as you can so it doesn't seem such a burden, that changes things dramatically. A simple walk down the street can be eye opening as kids see things we don't and in a way we've long forgotten about. I always loved that. I used to get mine (even at two) spotting colours in cars etc, finding twigs that looked like things, counting, talking about their favourite things. Keep them smiling if you can. Distraction is a good technique.., my son always used to want to walk on the grounds of a block of flats, not nice for the people living there so I'd tell him no.., he'd ALWAYs go into a temper tantrum, so as soon as I said no and saw him draw in breath ready to start screaming I'd ask him what video he wanted to watch when we got home. Always worked, never forgotten, life saver lolol.

Old roll of wallpaper for painting on. Dipping hands and feet in paint and walking on it etc (with bowl of water handy lol), prepare some picture cuts outs of their favourite things for sticking down, crunching up coloured paper/material for making collages (some craft kits can be bought from pound shops).

Sometimes looking after kids is an ideal opportunity to do the daft things you've always wanted to do but are now too old to do lol.

Look online and see what going on in your area. Libraries might have story times (and check notice boards for local groups you might be interested in, town halls might produce booklets saying what's going on for children in your area). Is there a Children's Information Centre in your area.. they might have a list of playgroups etc. The problem is you will only have your grandchild for a couple of months so anything with waiting lists is out. Sometimes there are toy libraries.

Was your grandchild previously in nursery? If so, I'd ask what the parents were paying and say you need a portion of that to cover costs.

You are giving your grandchild, and their parents a wonderful gift (even if they do give you some money), the extra care and attention a grandparent gives their grandchild is priceless. And I hope doing so makes you smile.

Kim_kim

I'm looking after my granddaughter one day a week for a year, I did it for my grandson for 2 years.

I take her to the local sure start playgroup.

I work full time, I did compressed hours to find the time for my grandson, my daughter is switching to term time only hours now - so I'm using annual leave for the days - all of it!

DomRavioli

duchy wrote: »

If you are caring for a child in your home for pay (money or in kind) on a regular basis then you need to be registered as a childminder and you also need to declare the income for tax purposes.

If you don't want it to be a long term arrangement Id also suggest you make sure they are already making the new arrangements now as often there are waiting lists especially for the length of day you are currently doing.

That isn't correct - if the person looking after them is an immediate family member, which includes grandparents, they do NOT need to register. Check OFSTED before you come out with something so untrue.

alipops1986

Crikey! That's nearly more hours than a full time job!

We're very fortunate that my mum offered to look after our little boy 2 days a week and we put him nursery for two days - he's 15 months old.

However, I supply everything for my boy when he's with my mum; nappies, wipes, food/snacks, paracetomol, ibuprofen, spare clothes - basically anything he needs. If my mum wants to take him somewhere, and I find out, I offer her some money for the entrance fee or a coffee etc. Often she doesn't accept but as she's saving me £49.50 a day, i'm more than happy to offer her something towards activities.

Alipops x

bigmomma051204

Can I recommend finding out whether you have a childrens centre locally to you? You could check with your local council, or simply google "childrens centre (your area name)"
They will welcome you with open arms, and have lots on offer for children of that age!
The activities should only cost a minimum amount (usually a couple of quid per family, at the very most!) and will offer your grandchild super social activities. Lots of grandparents access these services for a similar reason to yourself

missbiggles1

Jagraf wrote: »

Mine was in full time nursery by this age, you are an absolute angel

Which is more than can be said for the child's parents!

kingfisherblue

I look after my granddaughter three mornings a week. My daughter and son-in-law provide everything that she needs. I don't receive any money from them, but I don't expect to either. My daughter cut her hours after her baby was born, so they have less money, but our arrangement works well. Her partner looks after the little one when she is at work at weekends.

I consider myself very lucky to be able to spend time with my granddaughter, but it's for far less time than the OP. I doubt if I could manage so many hours. My son is disabled and I am his full time carer, but my daughter has my son at her house sometimes so that I can rest. I have the best of both worlds - time with my granddaughter, but not so much time that I can't cope or that I resent it.

I often spend part of the afternoon with my daughter and granddaughter too, if neither of us have any other plans.

LannieDuck

As others have said, check out the SureStart children's centres. They'll each have a timetable of activities for very little cost. If you can find at least one activity a day to take the child out of the house (trips to the supermarket and playground are definitely included!), it'll make your life much easier - let them burn off all that energy