As I write this, my mother-in-law is here for a visit. She’s only able to come about once a year, so we’re pretty lenient with our daughter when she’s here, even though she’s not familiar with our routines. The same goes with my parents when they come to visit; being a grandparent is special—you don’t have to do the same kind of discipline and it’s acceptable to spoil your grandkids.
Even though we want to foster wonderful grandparent-grandchild relationships for our daughter and her grandparents, my hubby and I have decided that there have to be a few ground “rules” for all parties involved.
- Spoiling isn’t a bad thing, so long as it doesn’t undermine discipline.
- Safety is never to be compromised.
- Some rules are in place for a reason, such as ‘no liquids after 6, so as not to have nighttime accidents’ or ‘we hold hands in parking lots or streets.’
- Have fun-you’re the grandparent, you don’t have to clean or cook-you can spend time with her.
Are our rules out of line? Do you have guidelines or things you just don’t let fly when grandparents are around?
