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Original poster

What kind of granny will you be?

116 replies

lljkk · 08/04/2023 18:28

I'll be taking any grand children skating, wind-surfing & mountainbiking. I'll give them ice cream for tea. And you?

OP posts:
Noicant · 08/04/2023 18:50

If DD has them at the same age I had her I’ll be 76 and hopefully sitting in a nice comfy chair doing the crossword and not doing any childcare whatsoever.

katienana · 08/04/2023 18:51

I'll babysit whenever asked! I'd love to be really involved and help out like my parents do for us.

Spendonsend · 08/04/2023 18:53

I hope i manage to be respectful of the parents rules, space etc and fun to be around for the child.

worraliberty · 08/04/2023 18:57

I'll be Catherine Tate's Nan, but with an even filthier laugh.

Eggsley · 08/04/2023 18:59

I'm very much hoping I'll be able to look after any grandchildren a fair bit and take them on days out, do fun stuff etc. Hopefully they will live nearby so we can see each other regularly. Also hoping I'm young enough to want to offer sleepovers. All the stuff my kids haven't had from their own grandparents tbh.

TulipTuesday · 08/04/2023 19:02

I’m going to become a grandmother to a little boy in August!

I’m going to be a young nan at 43 so hope to have the energy to play with him and have fun in the way my mum did with my boys before she passed away.

I’ll try really hard not to overstep the mark, my MIL was a little bit frustrating (to put it mildly) when mine were little and I really don’t want to be like that.

fivetriangulartrees · 08/04/2023 19:03

I currently foresee two options:

If my kids have kids at the age we had them, I'll be pushing 90, infirm and jealous of the in-laws who can be hands-on with their grandchildren. I'll sit and watch them with a scowl on my face, eating their crisps and occasionally leaking wee on their settee. My kids' partners will resent Soggy Grandma coming round and I will cause arguments.

Alternatively I imagine DS1 (now 5) will get a girlfriend pregnant at 17 and I'll be the Cool But Useless Granny giving lots of advice and encouragement to the girlfriend, so her parents will hate me for acting all supportive when they really wanted her to terminate and go to university. I'll be too knackered and busy with teenage DS2 to do anything of much practical help but I imagine giving small handouts to the DIL, which she will use but feel slightly dirty about, and shouting at DS1 down the phone for failing to engage with his child.

I need to come up with some more optimistic fantasies.

afterdropshock · 08/04/2023 19:06

Present. As long as I am able.I want be there.

TomatoSandwiches · 08/04/2023 19:07

I'll be advising my children to get pets instead of procreating and I will happily dog/cat/pet sit when they want to travel extensively alone or with friends/partners.

Daffodilwoman · 08/04/2023 19:07

If I’m young and fit enough I’ll be taking them on walks and talking about nature. I’ll also be taking them to their activities and encouraging them to try their best and enjoy themselves. However I anticipate having to work full time for many years to come so maybe it will be quick visits before I pass out exhausted.

Aylestone · 08/04/2023 19:10

I’ll help out as much as I can. I won’t expect payment for childcare or babysitting. I’ll respect the parents wishes at all times. And I’ll never give ‘advice’ unless asked.

carriedout · 08/04/2023 19:11

I'm hoping to be the sort of grandparent that is supportive of the parents and nice to the kids.

I don't want to be a pita.

ShippingNews · 08/04/2023 19:13

I'm already a granny. I do childcare, I'm respectful of parents rules, I make cup cakes with them. And I volunteer to make their birthday cakes. Being a granny is fun !

GulfCoastBeachGirl · 08/04/2023 19:15

The kind that doesn't provide childcare. Sorry, not sorry😀

But I will be available for babysitting on occasion, taking older grandkids out for the day to do fun things and spoiling them within reason. Will also know my place, which means respecting the boundaries set by the child's parents. Oh, and I have the means to provide financially (if the parents are OK with this) and it would give me a great deal of pleasure to do so.

MissEira · 08/04/2023 19:19

I will definitely do childcare whenever needed. I did that for my sister when she had her baby once a week for an entire year. It was really fun and im sad that she works less now 😢
I will also have no rules and do all the fun stuff my kids dont get to do with me (but they do at my mums house). Like candy day or yes day outside day (and night) etc.

blitzen · 08/04/2023 19:25

fivetriangulartrees · 08/04/2023 19:03

I currently foresee two options:

If my kids have kids at the age we had them, I'll be pushing 90, infirm and jealous of the in-laws who can be hands-on with their grandchildren. I'll sit and watch them with a scowl on my face, eating their crisps and occasionally leaking wee on their settee. My kids' partners will resent Soggy Grandma coming round and I will cause arguments.

Alternatively I imagine DS1 (now 5) will get a girlfriend pregnant at 17 and I'll be the Cool But Useless Granny giving lots of advice and encouragement to the girlfriend, so her parents will hate me for acting all supportive when they really wanted her to terminate and go to university. I'll be too knackered and busy with teenage DS2 to do anything of much practical help but I imagine giving small handouts to the DIL, which she will use but feel slightly dirty about, and shouting at DS1 down the phone for failing to engage with his child.

I need to come up with some more optimistic fantasies.

😂 love this

Goldbar · 08/04/2023 19:29

I'll try to be that granny that does all the stuff parents think they should be doing with their kids but don't have the energy... painting, baking, scavenger hunts etc. So when I give the kids back, the parents can have some guilt-free TV time.

My DC's grandparents do lots of stuff like this with our DC and I'm very grateful for it!

hiredandsqueak · 08/04/2023 19:30

I am a Granny or more Gangan, I'm more hands on than I imagined in so far as I have done childcare for dgs since dd went back to work. Now I only do childcare during pre school holidays though which I prefer. I've managed never to have offered unwanted advice or overstepped dd's boundaries by being the sort of Granny I would have wanted for my dc.
I'm one of dgs's biggest fans, he makes me laugh a lot and I get to do all the stuff I enjoyed doing with his mama without the disturbed nights or early mornings. Dd would say I spoil him in so far as I buy him toys and clothes when I see something I like but I follow dd's wishes and he's not allowed to do anything here that dd wouldn't allow at hers

LeoDiCapricorn · 08/04/2023 19:31

I'll be a I've raised my kids, these are yours and head off round the world

februarysunset · 08/04/2023 19:32

Noicant · 08/04/2023 18:50

If DD has them at the same age I had her I’ll be 76 and hopefully sitting in a nice comfy chair doing the crossword and not doing any childcare whatsoever.

Hi mum! Lol.

My own DM has never lifted a finger to help me with my kids, despite badgering me for years to have them. It's been hard. I am going to be a hands-on granny.

Georgig · 08/04/2023 19:33

I'll take them skiing ( and I'd love it if they took me clubbing!😂)

TooOldToCareAboutOthersOpinions · 08/04/2023 19:33

Id babysit when asked. Whether a weekly thing for work or just for free time.
I'd no doubt spoil them.
Id take them lovely places and just do fun things with them.

My parents and dh parents are all similar. Take the dcs out. Offer sleepovers, one parent would literally have the dc with half hour notice. We're really bloody lucky. At 2 of the grandparents parents homes they have their own bedrooms etc
And im not uptight when they say or do things that not everyone would agree with.

Nice and relaxed all round

EllaPaella · 08/04/2023 19:39

Well if my eldest has kids the age I did then I could be a Grandma in two years time aged 46 👀 So if that happens I won't be helping out with childcare as i'll still be very much working full-time myself! My youngest is still at Primary school so ideally I'd like at least one decade of my life when I am not having to run round after small people.

Mary46 · 08/04/2023 19:40

Same as others got zero help over the years. Yes I babysit. Wouldnt mind full T does tie your days. But of course I would help if I was a granny im 50

PollyThePixie · 08/04/2023 19:42

Being a granny is great and I’m one 8 times over so there’s never a dull moment or a lot of time to fill. I don’t have any advice on how to have a good relationship with a grandchild’s parents but we are obviously all doing something right because we muddle along happily together and there aren’t any barneys.