3 Lessons from My Grandchildren’s Visit

Four action-packed days! The grandchildren just left after a short and sweet visit. They are now seven, five and three, so there was less direct supervision needed, fewer meltdowns, and easier bedtimes than during their last stay. I’m a lot less tired than last year!

But they are still very busy little people, and I definitely learned a few lessons worth passing along. I’ve written before about how to make visits from your grandchildren go smoothly, but here are three things I learned this time around.

Lesson #1: They can get into anything they can reach.

I thought I’d done a really good job of removing everything I didn’t want them to get into. Little did I know the seven-year-old is in a phase of extreme curiosity and investigation, and that he would go through every drawer and cupboard he could open.

Since I had taken my own advice and put anything truly off-limits (medications, sharp objects, etc.) both out of sight and out of reach, this was merely annoying rather than dangerous. And to his credit, he put away most of the things he unearthed after exploring.

Next time, I’ll do a better job of making sure he knows what’s off limits. I’ll also double check that there are no potential hazards, to be extra safe.

Lesson #2: It’s okay to say no.

Last year when they were here, they had a blast playing with a Mud Pie Kitchen we found at a farmer’s market. They ran in and out of the kitchen all morning, asking me for “something else” for their stew. This visit, the five-year-old asked almost immediately if we still had it.

We got it out and let them choose where to set it up, and they quickly asked if they could have some honey from the kitchen. This time I said no. I told them they had to find all the ingredients in the yard this year. I felt a little mean, but I held firm despite their pleas. They pouted for about a minute, then got busy. It kept them entertained even longer than last year, and didn’t require my pantry supplies.

Lesson #3: I need a checklist

It’s been a year since they were at our house, so preparing for their visit took a little extra mental energy. While I did a good job of getting things ready, I managed to forget a couple of things. I didn’t prep for bath time, so I had to scramble to find the baby shampoo, bath toys and towels for everyone when the time came. Also, I had been at their house just a week before, so I didn’t ask what everyone was currently eating at lunch time. Little did I know the seven-year-old had changed his very specific lunch requirements in the last few days.

This year, I’m going to sit down a make an actual “checklist for when the grandkids visit”, and I’ll share it with you all when I’m done.

The other thing I learned is that I won’t get any actual work done, hence this super short blog post!