Looking after Grandchild

enthusiasticsaver

I am a new grandmother of a lovely granddaughter who is only 6 weeks old at the moment but I am babysitting her for a few hours tomorrow morning so my daughter can catch up on some sleep, jobs etc. I have offered to look after her two days a week, maybe three when my daughter goes back to work next September hopefully. I work part time so will fit it round my working hours depending on whether the other granny can help out. I will not be asking for money and will do things I used to do with my daughters when they were small - ie the park, the library, swimming maybe at our local pool. The only difficulty I would see is that when my daughters were small I was part of an active mums and toddlers group and I am guessing as a granny this will not be the case. My daughter has friends with children the same age though so hopefully she will be able to do all that sort of stuff with her on her days as she is hoping to go back to work part time. The advantage I can see of being a granny daytime carer is that when my granddaughter is picked up by her mum or dad I will have the weekends, evenings free to do other stuff which was not the case when I had my own children. I am looking forward to it

sheramber

My DIL has a circle of other mum friends which includes granny who looks after her granddaughter every day.

slowcoachme

Thanks for all replies and activity suggestions. He is a very active little boy and I have looked up things online. There is a Surestart centre nearby and a local library which has Activities for 2-4 yr olds. I will venture out on the bus with him, we live in Greater London and I have a 60+Oyster. We have woods nearby so a walk through them will be good. I suppose I'm most concerned about getting my own housework done etc and I miss my afternoon nap! He hasn't really socialised with other kids, so that will be foremost in my mind to help him. My DD did take him to a Sat am session in main library about a year ago but he was so disruptive that she was asked not to bring him back.
I don't think my DD and partner realise how lucky they are! and I will definitely be reminding them to find other care in the New Year though I could still possibly do 2 or 3 days.

Kynthia

If you have the money the a monthly pass for a local soft play centre, or weekly sessions at a class like Toddler Sense or Music Bugs is great. There are local playgroups which are cheaper in church halls and community centres. Check out different garden centres as some have free soft play areas and even if they don't it's a free wander round and there's usually fish to look at and a cafe for lunch.

Metranil_Vavin

Can they not afford to send him to a childminder for at least a day a week to give you a break?
They are indeed very lucky to have you! My mum has never been able to help as she has a lot of health issues herself including arthritis, so lifting etc is just too much for her. she did come and stay with me for a week when my daughter was born as I was spiralling bit into PND and the lack of sleep was sending me nutty. Bless my mum, she sat up most of the night with my DD and I just came in and out to do the feeds. It meant at least I got some rest. It was as much as she could manage, but it was invaluable.

OH's mum and dad are more healthy and younger, but they live bout 350 miles away!

My 2 year old is a right handful. I work 3 days a week and she goes to a childminder those days, but on the 2 days I am at home we do a variety of things, most of which are park/outdoor based as she loves her scooter and being outside.

After we've dropped my son to school (which is an activity in itself as on the way home she likes to collect leaves and play peek-a-boo behind every tree so it takes a good while to get home!), we'll either go to the park, feed the ducks, go to the cafe, meet a friend for a playdate etc. She also likes 'helping' me do the shopping at sainsbury's which again can take a while!

If the weather is bad we'll do stuff indoors - playdoh, drawing/painting/building towers. She loves books so I read to her a lot, and actually Cbeebies is invaluable for if you need to get something done!

Toddler groups can be fun, but some are quite pricey. Your local children centre will have lists of free things to do.

Good luck, you sound amazing!

slowcoachme

My grandson has been looked after by his father up till now, he's now got a job hence my offer to look after GS. It's short term because by end of year they will be in a position to pay for childcare. Reminder to self, Nag daughter to research childminders/nurseries!

pollypenny

As I said, I'm sure you'll meet other grandparents when you take little one to these activities.

Good luck.

pattycake

I used to do Story Time and Rhyme Time sessions free in the local library. I soon got chatting to other grandparent carers. There's a lot of them about! I actually made some new friends.

I also went to a toddler group and there was a mix of mums, grans and even dads to chat to.

I liked to be out of the house as much as possible but the coming months make trips to the park etc more difficult.

Fen1

A family annual pass to your local zoo will pay for itself. Tigers one day, giraffs the next etc. My local zoo has a big play area and always has little ones in it, right through the year. It works out far cheaper per use than a pay-as-you-go play centre.
It might also help if he is 'disruptive'. He might understand that being noisy and brash upsets the panda/gecko/Tiger: " we have to be very quiet and gentle when we see it, we can play afterwards, but hush hush with the animal." Being quiet for an animal's sake is somehow more relateable than behaving for other humans.

Mojisola

slowcoachme wrote: »

I suppose I'm most concerned about getting my own housework done etc and I miss my afternoon nap!

I don't think my DD and partner realise how lucky they are! and I will definitely be reminding them to find other care in the New Year though I could still possibly do 2 or 3 days.

Then be upfront and tell them.

They need to repay anything you spend while looking after their treasure and could also fund a cleaner for you so that you don't get wiped out while working full-time for them for free.