GRAND Magazine - May/June 2015 - (Page 32)
grand humor
BABYSITTING "RULeS" FOR SASSY GRANDS
By rose PaDriCk
rose with some of her lovely brood of eighteen grandchildren
W
hether you're Grammy, Poppi, Nana, Gigi,
or just plain grandmama, chances are you
love taking care of your grandkids-sans
all those silly parental rules. When a friend's son
married a lady with toddlers, she asked me (of all
people) for babysitting tips. Boy, was I ready.
1
2
3
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5
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7
8
Arrive early, toting a bag full of nutritious
snacks and storybooks.
Smile and nod while Mom and Dad drone on
about bedtimes, not waking the baby, and
which TV shows are forbidden.
Lock the door and watch to be sure Mom and
Dad actually make it out of the driveway.
Have one of the older grandkids retrieve the
bag of REAL goodies from its hiding place in
your car.
Wake the baby, savoring the moment he
opens those beautiful green eyes, recognizes you, and his whole face smiles at you.
Crank up the radio so everyone can dance in
the kitchen while you microwave S'mores.
While the S'mores cool, everyone bunny-hops
into the back yard and howls at the moon.
Wolf down the treats (with milk of course)
and then enjoy a game of hide and seek in
the (almost) dark.
I live by the adage that parents make the rules
and regulations and grandparents bend the rules, and
together they'll raise grandkids that grow into fine
adults-who had the best Grammy in the world.
A longer version of this story was first published in 2009 in The Art
of Grandparenting and reprinted courtesy of Nightingale Press.
32 GRAND
May June 2015
9
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Change the baby's pajamas-and try to
rinse all the chocolate out before hiding
them in the washer.
Pop a video in, to quiet the sugar and
energy laden grandkids before Mom and
Dad come home.
Make a quick exit, hastily explaining that
the baby just woke up when you went to
check on him, and you're sure he'll go right back
down.
Deny everything! Especially when Dad
calls the next day wondering how the
baby managed to change his own PJs and why
his neighbor reported hearing strange noises
coming from somewhere in the vicinity of his
back yard.
Don't sweat the repercussions, the parents will eventually forget you didn't
follow their silly rules, but hopefully the grandkids never will.
12
13
rose Padrick's column "rose's room" still
appears in the Port Saint John Happenings
newspaper and her current project is a
series of children's books. she's the proud
grandmother of a brood.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - May/June 2015
Contents
GRAND Magazine - May/June 2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2024spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2024winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2023fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2023summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2023winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2022fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2022summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2022spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2022winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2021fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2021summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2021spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2021winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2020fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2020fall_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2020summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2020spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/2020winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20181112_drm
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20180506
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/grand/20100910_v3
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