Leaving 5yo and 3 and a half yo with Grandparents for 12 days

[elsom73]

Does anyone have any advice for how to prepar my 5yo daughter and 3 and a half yo son for being left with their Grandparents for 12 days? My husband and I are going to Jamaica with other family members at the end of March and decided it was too long haul and dangerous to take the children. Grandma will be moving in for 12 days to look after them and I am anxious to make it as easy on everyone as poss. Any advice????????????

they will love it, it will be like a big adventure and they can re tell granny all the house rules!!

Just tell them whats happening and how exciting it will be, and that mummy will be back

make sure you have a timetable of everything thats happening and phone numbers that you can be contacted on. PLus your location, flight numbers etc

has grandma had them on their before?
is she fit and active?! and can she drive?
I would leave her instructions of what they eat, what time they get up, things she can do with them, how to go about the school run if she hasn't done it before, names and numbers of friends, maye set up a few playdates for eldest so someone can pick her up and take her away for a couple of hours

will you be in reach of the internet when you are away? if so, set up skype and a camera?

Arrange a time to call home every day so they can hear you, (and see you if possible).

I would also allow for them to call you if they suddenly feel they really have to. It's not always easy to wait to talk to Mum about something not at all 'really really important' (eg what their friend said, or what happened at school). Have you signed up to one of the cheap call numbers (look on the moneysavingforum website) so with Grandma's help they could call you on your mobile?

Thanks for this advice. My husband seems to think it will confuse them if we call home every day (I had planned on ringing at the same time, like teatime or bedtime every day so that they know we still exist). He thinks that it will unsettle them and we should just let Grandma get on with it and ring every 3 days. Am I being selfish in wanting to speak to them every day? I want to reassure the youngest that we're still alive and will come home!

12 days in sun without kids

I would deffo want to speak to them every day. I don't think it will unsettle them if you keep it jolly and positive, which I'm sure you would

We have not left our DC for as long as 12 days, I think the longest was 5 days. They are now 4 and 6yo. This was about a year ago so they were 3 and 5yo.

I would let them dictate how often they call you. I found that they often did not want to speak to me anyway (they were having so much fun with Granny) and that it unsettled them.

They won't forget you, but children of that age have a limited understanding of time. They don't know if it was 10 mins ago or three days that they last spoke to you.

I leave a list of emergency contact numbers when we go away. Also numbers of friends in the area so that they can ask for assistance if need be.

I don't bother with lists of food/activities any more, as they are used to Granny and Grandad and will tell them what they like. I do make sure that I fill the freezer (and sometimes make a lasagne, or shepherds pie so that my parents don't always have to cook).

Does your mum like to bake? My DC love baking and it is great for a rainy afternoon. Make sure you have ingredients in the house.

I try to make sure that I have everything in the house that they might need (food, loo roll, drinks etc) so that Granny does not need to do a lot of shopping.

For my Mum I try to have a bottle of Baileys in the house too so that she can have a wee glass in the evening when the kids are in bed

I have left my kids with Granny for various lengths of time since they were young. They enjoy it, there has been a few times when they have missed me a bit more, but they haven't been crying and sobbing or anything.

One thing I have avoided is the phoning all the time. If I phone to talk to gran about something I will speak to them if they want but I don't need to speak to them IYSWIM. I think if they are happy and enjoying time with gran there is no need to disrupt them and have them thinking about me. This works for me too as I really don't think about them too much when I am away and don't worry about them.

If there is time before you go and granny hasn't stayed overnight before and had them without you I would have a test run.

I would phone after they've gone to bed every day to catch up, or email; but I wouldn't speak to the kids every day - I agree with your dh.

My parents looked after the boys for a fortnight when they were 3 and 5 when we moved house. They all had a fabulous time, real "making memories" days. Especially as my dad was diagnosed with cancer a few months later and the boys never went to stay with both grandparents again.

Make the most of it!

Will your dd be at school, or is it during the holidays?