how much babysitting by grandma is too much before she is being taken advantage of?

Answer 1

Grandma has to be a little more candid about whether she wants to be babysitting. When the thank you's stop coming and the requests are a given, then I would say that Grandma has clearly been taken for a ride. Maybe one should pay fro Grandma's services to offset the costs of childcare. I am sure Grandma does not have another income if she can spend her time rearing her Grand babies.

Answer 2

I would say that it all depends on the age of 'grandma' and the 'child'. Because You have to think that if your child is older than 5 and is a little hyper like kids tend to me...that actually might be a lot for an older lady to handle. I would try not to depend on 'grandma' so much....but dont take your child away completely. Just dont have your child over there everyday....'grandma' needs some space of her own. Even though im sure she enjoys every minute with your young one. Also, make sure that its not too late at night.....older people do go to bed earlier and kids usually want their parents when bedtime comes. It all depends on your child and the grandma...howmuch is too much for her?...ask her!

Answer 3

This is good of you to be asking.
GRANDMA's DO have a life outside of the children and the grandchildren...
Many play golf, have communmity responsibilities, go out with friends, are Red Hat Ladies, take day trips, do volunteer work that they love, are active in church projects, might be single and dating, and all of the things young people do, except a tad slower at the pace...so actually Grandma's have
LESS TIME than you would suspect.

If you are afraid that Grandma is accepting the responsibility of watching her grands more than she would really like, take her to lunch and ask her about all her other activities...make mental notes, or real notes, and try not to schedule your request for her unpaid services at the same times as her other activities.

You sound like a very thoughtful person.
stw

Answer 4

Depends on the grandma and how busy she is outside of watching the child. Each case is different. Does she watch the child because she wants to or doing it out of guilt? If nothing else, ask grandma to let you know when its too much. OR... Maybe gauge it by your guilt level. If you feel that you are taking advantage of grandma, then you should find other means to your child being taken care of.

Answer 5

It depends on the Grandma. I neverr ask grandma to bbsit, but my sister does at least every two weeks.
My boss on the other hand always has grandkids at her house.

Answer 6

Grandma has to learn to say no.I am a grandma and a great grandma and believe me I have more to do then to baby sit.

Answer 7

ANY!....She's EARNED her freedom to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants. She should have her grand-kids visit her! C'mon!, Being a granny does not equal baby-sitter! They (grandmas) have a life too and they've already dealt with YOU.

Answer 8

I think you should offer to do something in return for her, whether it is offering money, take her out to dinner, cook her dinner..etc. Anytime you don't offer up something is too much. She will eventually feel unappreciated. Try just surprising her with the things I said, rather than asking her if she wants you to do them.

Answer 9

As the great Dear Abby once said, "No one takes advantage of you without your permission."

Answer 10

If she doesn't want to do it or is making sacrifices she regrets, then it's too much. Otherwise, if she's happy and honestly doesn't mind, there's no problem. It depends on the individual.