Would you send your 3 years old dd for a week holidays....

[clapyourhandssayyeah]

to her grand parents ? I'm considering it..but is she too young ? Would you do it ?
Have you done it ?

[EscapeFrom]

My child at 3 to his grandparents - no, but yours may well be absolutely fine!

[suezee]

????????????????????????????? whatever ur comfortable doing,my dad has dd once a week for me and although im cartwheeling the first couple of hours i find myself missing her and the noise

[clapyourhandssayyeah]

Its too young, almost a baby...I'm under the pressure to let her go there but as they are living in Suffolk and we are in London...it'll take to go there to pick her up if any problems.

[PandaG]

have done it, and DS had a fab time. First time was 5 days - Sun Night to Fri Night, he was 3 and 3 months.

Next time it was for our 10th weddding anniversary, so DD went too, she was 18 months at the time. THey are now 7 and 5 and are looking forward to 2 separate weeks at the GPs this summer without us

[gingeme]

Why are you considering it? Have they asked to have her? Has she asked to go or is it so you can have a rest? I wouldnt send my ds personaly as I know he would miss me too much

[ShrinkingViolet]

DD1 went to her grandparents at age 2.5 - 650 miles away! I was a bit wobbly about the whole thing, but she would have been 6 hours drive away at most (both my mum and I driving 6 hours, meeting in the middle) and we reckoned not even DD1 could scream for 6 hours non-stop .
However, she was staying with my parents who I knew would keep to her usual routines, and had spent a LOT of time with them in the run-up to the Big Adventure.
Since then all three DDs have spent a week or so at a time with my parents each year, and both DD1 and DD2 will fly back and forth by themselves.
We speak on the phone every day when each of the are away, and email - they have a fantastic time, grandparents get to spoil them rotten (fortunately our ideas of what constiutes appropriate spoiling are very similar), and they get a chance to develop good relationships with each other without me being there.

[WigWamBam]

My dd is 6, and there's no way I would send her for a week with her grandparents. I don't want to be without her for that long, and she wouldn't be happy away from me and dh for that long.

I've left her overnight with my parents once, and that's as much as I would feel comfortable doing. As for leaving her with my MIL, twenty minutes would be too long.

[clapyourhandssayyeah]

Well the MIL asked me..and I'm just thinking..I know she's going to smashed her routine but a majority of gp do it ? No ? I cant be fussy...Maybe I should try and go to Suffolk pick her up middle of the week if problem..if I dont try, I wont know

[Hulababy]

I couldn't do it and DD is 5. I am sure she would enjoy herself and I know she would be well looked after, but I (and DH actually) am just not ready to leave her for a week yet. Besides our grandparents (both sets) only live an hour away and we see them loads anyway so would not be an issue for us.

However doesn't mean it is the wrong thing to do. I know plenty who have and do and it works great for them. So if you and your child feel happy with it, go for it.

[LoveMyGirls]

I would do it, i have done it, my children are very confident, outgoing and happy to be left with family and close friends. Dd1 has frequently stayed away since she was young (not sure how old exactly probably about 2ish) and when she was 6 she went with her grandparents to greece for 2 weeks - she absolutly loved it, they loved it, i missed her of course but it's an experience i couldn't have afforded to give her, this year (she will be 8) and my family are taking her to turkey for 2 weeks, again we can't afford it and her sister is too young to go anyway imo.

I think it's healthy for them to have time away from their parents just as its healthy for to get a break too tbh. It doesn't mean i don't love my kids or want to spend all my time with them, it means that I am confident they will be well looked after and they are confident i will still be here when they get back and that they will have a fab time!

[Hulababy]

My DD does have other time away from me and DH. She regularly spends the day and/or an overnight stop with both sets of grandparents, spends days with friends, etc. Just no reason for us to need her to be away for a full week. She is still very happy, confident and independent.

[muppetgirl]

Yep,
done it lots and he's enjoyed it and so have we. I don't feel guilty for wanting to spend time with my dh, having lie ins going out to dinner etc.

Do have to re-train when ds gets back though as he's had a week of doing what he wants.....

[oliveoil]

no

[LadyMacbeth]

When I was two I stayed with my GPs for two weeks! I loved it. I then went to stay with them for two weeks every summer. It was idyllic.

I'm not sure though if I could do it with my own dds (age 3 and 20 mths) yet. I have left them with family for two nights max several times but I just don't know if I could do a whole week yet. I have no doubt that dd1 would love it though as she always says she wants to stay at Grandma's!

[Millarkie]

I'm doing it next week
She's stayed occasional nights there since she was about 18 months. They spoil her rotten and it gives me time to have ds all to myself
Then ds is going a couple of weeks later and I get dd all to myself.
And I get 2 kids who are amazingly close to their grandparents and 2 very happy grandparents...what's not to like?

[Millarkie]

Oh, and we also get the world's cutest phone calls between dd and ds at bedtime (cos they can't sleep without talking to each other)

[mylittlefreya]

Like said above - MY dd to either of my parents - no, but to the outlaws, well, maybe. I don't think it is wrong. Could you start with a couple of nights and work up, if you are feeling unsure?

[pyjamaqueen]

I would do it.

[Desiderata]

Won't you miss her for a whole week? Won't she miss you?

She's too young, imo.

[ShrinkingViolet]

you need to be really sure that you're happy with it, because if you're not, your DD will pick up on it, and even if she's happy, it could make things difficult. It so much depneds on what your relationship with the grandparents is like, what the grandparents relationship with the grandchild is like, and whether you can chat on the phone without snivelling each night .
If you're happy with all of the above, and just want reassurance that you're not the Mum From Hell, then it seems there are lots fo us who have done the same. If you're not happy and want people to talk you out of it, then that's fine, as only you know you both you and your DD are likely to react.

[Sexonknackeredlegs]

Hi there. My dd went to my dh's parents last August for a week, when she was 3 years 3 months. They live about 2 1/2 hours away. She was a bit wobbly for the first 2 days, but had a great time in the end. I think it was hugely beneficial for her and us, because as they say, absence makes the heart grown fonder.

She is going again next month!

However, I do believe you have to do what is right for you and your dd. Our dd is quite independent and confident.