Grandparents Essential Tips
Grandparents Essential Tips will be helpful for all Grandparents! Please read through these suggestions and if you have additional tips, please add to the form below!
Grandparents Essential Tips:
Before the Baby Arrives
This list will
include a variety of suggestions from before the baby arrives until
baby is at home and you have been babysitting for a few months.
- Let the parents decide on when to "tell everyone" the news about their pregnancy
- Offer to host a baby shower party for friends and family
- Help parents decorate the nursery: hang curtains, paint walls or murals, or sew a wall hanging
- Purchase special items for the new grandbaby's arrival
- Offer
to drive Mom if she is home bound due to doctor's orders.
- She may need
to go to her doctor's visit or to a baby store to finish shopping.
- Never get involved in suggesting names for your grandchild. Naming the baby should be the couples decision.
Grandparents Essential Tips:
After Baby Comes Home
After the babies were home, here are a few more " Essential Tips and Techniques" that we encourage. You probably have suggestions too.
- Encourage your
children in current parenting skills. Research, read, and explore all parenting suggestions. Many of us--the soon to be grandparents, only if asked, offer our
opinion with related experiences and emphasize to all that will listen "that we feel that our children
turned out great!"
- Babysitting
is an honor especially for your own grandchildren. It is important
to follow the routine that the parents have established.
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Grandparents Essential Tips: After Baby Comes Home
Have parents
leave a feeding and nap time schedule for you to follow whenever you
babysit your grandchildren.
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- Remember
during this babysitting time, a special relationship and bond will be
formed between you and your wonderful grandchild. Words can never
express how important these special times will create memories for your lifetime.
- Another
Grandparents Essential Tips is to take photos, record videos and
share these moments with your relatives that live far away. If they
have access to various Social Media (Face Book, Twitter, etc.), share these special times. As we have found, distant relatives
love seeing pictures (Skype, Face Time, etc.) For our new twin grandsons and time passes so
quickly and they seem to change their appearance almost every day!
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Grandparents Essential Tips When babies come home from the hospital, please remember to follow
the routine that the parents and the hospital have established. Napping and feeding are essential to a happy baby!
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Additional Grandparents Essential Tips:
Learned during the last 10 months...
This "Essential Tips" list didn't come easy! As you will learn, when
you are completely responsible for babysitting your
grandchildren whether it be for one day or all week, it becomes a daunting task. Since we live so close, we
are given the honor of babysitting our grandsons often. Don't fight this responsibility, embrace it!
Here are a few more Grandparents Essential Tips that we
feel are very important:
- Baby bag is well stocked with essentials: diapers, liquid baby Tylenol, thermometer, rattles, extra changes of clothes, etc. Hint: You may want to have a stash of diapers on hand, but don't buy too many of one size, the twins outgrew diapers quickly and we have leftovers!
- Include in the diaper bag, a copy of an emergency medical release
form for each child giving grandparents the authority to authorize medical treatment for the children when parents can't be reached. (This is important to always
have to ensure proper medical attention!)
Lullaby and good night..to these beautiful little ones!
- Having all important phone numbers available: daughter/son's cell numbers, location of where they are for the day or evening in case there isn't cell phone connection (in case of an emergency), pediatrician's phone number, poison control center, and our neighbor who is a physician. Also have posted the local police and fire department numbers.
- Take photos of your grandchildren while you are babysitting. You will cherish these photos! I often use my iPhone and text the picture to their parents to let them know how happy the boys are during their stay and what toys they are playing with at that time.
Grandparents Essential Tips:
First Sleepover!
- We have just experienced our first sleepover. Our daughter surprised her husband with a 24-hour 40th birthday celebration only an hour away from their babies, but a welcomed surprised weekend!
- As the day arrived, I didn't tell my family, but I was concerned about the twins staying overnight! Would they miss their parents during the last feeding? Would they sleep all night? Would they cry all night? Many questions, but only time would tell how successful this night will be!
- Only healthy snacks for children or grandbabies are allowed.
- Get
them ready for bedtime according to parents guidelines. Change the boys into a clean diaper and put on their pajamas. Swaddle each with a Zip Me Swaddle Sac. Give them a bottle at 7:30.
- Try to follow schedule and put baby to bed before 8:00.
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Other "Essential Tips and Techniques": Then read a
book or tell them a special story from my life history. Also, we either sing or hum a
special song and always say the prayer that their parents say before
the boys go to bed.
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- Call Mom and Dad and let them say goodnight to the boys.
- After
these routine events, then send a text to their parents to reassure
them that the babies are already in bed and resting comfortably.
- Our
night was magical! They followed the schedule as if they were at home
with their parents. No fussing, no crying, just smiles and sleepy
boys who slept all night and didn't awaken until almost 7 o'clock the
next morning!
We hope you will follow these Grandparenting Essential Tips
to have a wonderful experience with your grandchildren! Oh, and did
I mention, have a joyous time as you play, hold and love this most
fabulous gift in your life, your grandchild!
So
what are some of your best "Essential Tips?" I have shared mine below, now
please share with others what you have found to be the best tips for
babysitting your grandchild.
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- Offer encouragement
- create special times
- take photos
- Use Social Media and technology to stay in touch
- Enjoy this special time....they grow up too fast!
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Share your Essential Tips
Please share your essential tips on Grandparenting! What have you learned that will be beneficial for other grandparents? I've shared mine, now it is your time!
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