to leave my 8yo DS with DM(87)?

[IamAporcupine]

She lives by herself (in sheltered accommodation abroad), is slightly forgetful/gets confused sometimes, but she is mostly OK. Has a bad ankle at the moment after a fall, but she is still mobile.

Would you leave a (just turned) 8yo for a few hours with an elderly woman until another family member comes to get him?

I think a lot depends on your child. When DS was 10 we were on a cruise with MIL, she unexpectedly suffered from hallucinations. Never haD them before.

DS took it in his stride, realised something wasn’t right came and got us, (cabin next door) DH then stayed in with MIL while I had the kids (10, 8 and 5) Then situation deteriorated and we had to get the doctor involved.

At the same age DD1 would have been beside herself.

DD2 (9) would be fine in this situation. Would sit and chat, play on iPad, draw etc, she could get herself a cold drink,

Agree this is perfectly OK. I would happily leave sensible DC of any age above about 3 with my mum who is 82, getting physically more frail and getting a bit more forgetful in the same way (tells me same story again) for longer than a few hours. They will have a nice time and both feel proud they’ve taken care of each other.

I think it depends on granny’s condition not age specifically. David Attenborough is 93 ( or there abouts) and I can’t imagine anyone saying they wouldn’t leave their child with him for a few hours. If nether of them have any additional needs I don’t see a problem.

OP I glad you've spoken to them both and she is over the moon. Says it all. She'll be so looking forward to it!

They’ll be fine. As long as he has plenty to occupy him.

Sounds a good outcome, I would leave my 8 year old with my 89 yr old mil. I would never leave the 8 and 12 year olds together though. My MIL now has wi-fi, they'd be perfectly happy.

What if she fell and was unconscious? What if she had a heart attack?

Ahh the great 'what if's' I think most people would rather someone was there if they were to happen, and in some kind of complex there will be some kind of emergency call system, so all that needs to happen is for the system to be pointed out.

@Blackbear19 - she actually thanked me!

Thanks everyone, this thread has been really helpful.

That's brilliant.

Totally brought back to me the day I left my baby with my grandparents 88 & 93. They told everybody they BABYSAT!

And omitted to say it that it was barely 15mins while I ran to the shop for them. OMG they were so happy

Aww that's lovely!

My mil is 86 this year. My daughter and her have a lovely relationship but I wouldn’t leave her until she was 8 or so. Daughter was too quick and I just was not comfortable. I get a bit nervous when they are gone a long time but I would be fine if they were at home.