Visiting tips for grandparents living far away
If you have your children and grandchildren far away and you want to visit them for a few days at home, don’t miss these tips!
Being a grandparent who lives far away is complicated, although it also has benefits that many grandparents treasure: the possibility of being a guest in the children’s home and enjoying the new 24 hours. Staying with grandchildren and children offers the opportunity to share their daily lives in a unique way. Although spending too much time together can increase the chances of family conflicts, but they are totally preventable! With these tips, your adult children will love that you visit them at home and that you enjoy your grandchildren for as long as you want.
Index
TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN BEFORE SCHEDULING THE VISIT
At present, families lead a very stressed rhythm of life with many responsibilities and obligations. For this reason it will be important that before scheduling anything you talk with your children to find out how it would go if you went to visit their. home. You will have to offer several alternatives for them to choose the one that best suits them taking into account their busy lives and daily routines.
Talk about the duration of the visit and if the visit goes well, then you can think about the next time the visit will be longer. If you are combining the visit with another visit to another relative, then talk about this ahead of time and don’t treat your children’s home like a hotel. It is better that if you are going to visit your children dedicate your time exclusively to them.
Respect parenting time and your children’s homeless rules
Although it is normal that you want to spend as much time as possible with your grandchildren, you should understand that this cannot affect parents’ time with their children. If you have a grandson who is a baby, parents may still prefer that you help in his upbringing rather than spending too much time with him.
If your grandchildren are older, the countries are likely to appreciate that you want to be with them and keep them entertained, but you should maintain respect for rituals and daily routines. You should also be respectful when children show affection towards their parents or vice versa. You will see moments of their intimate lives and you will have to respect it at all times.
OFFER TO TAKE CARE OF THE CHILDREN
Parents like to have time to themselves and go out, but they can’t because they have to take care of their children. On the other hand, if you tell them that you will take care of their children so that they can go out, without a doubt, they know that their little ones will be in good hands. Assure them that you can take care of their children by following their rules and limits that the little ones already know.
Learn the routines of the home in terms of child care and you will also have to know how to handle yourself at home and where to find things. While you are taking care of your grandchildren, if you have doubts, call your children with any questions or unforeseen events.
YOUR CHILDREN ARE NOT YOUR TAXI DRIVERS
Unless they volunteer, you shouldn’t expect your kids to drive or pick you up. If you have the ability to live alone in your home, you will also have enough capacity to travel by transport. If you don’t live too far away and you still have the capacity to do so, you can drive your own vehicle to your children’s home. You can also use public transport if you feel safer traveling that way.
DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE ACCOMMODATION
If you have to sleep in the same bedroom as your grandchildren or on an inflatable mattress or even on a sofa bed, don’t complain about the arrangement. Your children do it in the best possible way considering their current resources. If you need to sleep well or sleep on a comfortable mattress to function, you can think about staying in a hotel near your home and in this way have the comfort you need at all times.
HELP AT HOME
You can make your bed, pick up the things you get dirty, wash the dishes, help with the kitchen and cleaning. Homework can be done with a little instruction taking into account how they do their homework. You do not need to clean deeply or organize things because they are not yours … it could also seem that you are criticizing the standards of home cleaning and that can feel bad.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.