GRAND Magazine - May/June 2018 - 28

ask dr. gramma karen

Before the grandkids come we get ready for fun!

A
Must--‐Read
for
Grandparents

BY KAREN L. RANCOURT

y husband and I live in Fort Lauderdale
November - May. The rest of the year we're
at the Jersey Shore near our daughter, sonin-law, and two grandsons, now 15- and 12-yearsold. Happily, our grandsons visit us as many as three
times a year when we're in Florida.
We want to get them from the plane to the beach
as fast as possible. Here's how we expedite this
process.

Eliminate luggage

Look
Inside

Before their first visit of the season, our daughter
packs and ships us a couple of boxes with the clothes
they'll need for "fun in the sun." We put the clothes
in their assigned drawers in "their armoire" and hang
things in "their space" in the closet. (We have a washer
and dryer so they don't need a lot of clothes.) After
their last visit of the season we ship the clothes back.
This eliminates the need for luggage; a backpack with
their digital devices and snacks is all they bring.

Plan food and activities
in advance

Before they come we ask for a list of all the food and
beverages they'd like us to have on hand. We shop
at our leisure instead of rushing around once they've
arrived. Favorite foods (like crusted tilapia and roasted
chicken) are prepared in advance and frozen.
When the boys were younger we had plastic bins for
each of them containing books, games, and crafts. We
28 GRAND

MAY JUNE 2018

kept them in storage between visits and would retrieve
them as needed. Each boy had his "activity corner"
ready when he came through the door.
Also in advance, my husband, "Peps" to our grandsons, gets their bikes out, pumps the tires, and oils the
chains. He makes sure that their basketballs have air,
the wheels on their skateboards are oiled, and their
boogie boards are polished.
When we tell friends the details of our preparation

"Aren't you afraid of spoiling
them by doing everything for
them?"

for their visits, they often ask: "Aren't you afraid of
spoiling them by doing everything for them?"
We answer: "It's our joy to spoil them this way. We
want to do whatever we can to help them get from
the plane to the beach in short order." Our grandsons
and their parents make sure we know how much they
appreciate our efforts.

"This
book...set
me
straight.
I
wasn't
sure
where
my
boundaries
were
as
a
grandma..."
"Karen
identiﬁes
the
cause
and
eﬀect
of
family
issues
in
plain
and
simple
language."
--‐
Amazon.com
Reviewers

Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D., writes
an advice column for parents and
grandparents at Mommybites.com
and is the author of Ask Dr. Gramma
Karen, Volume II: Savvy Advice to
Help Soothe Parent-Grandparent
Conflicts.

Show me the book!

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GRAND Magazine - May/June 2018

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