Do you babysit for your grandchildren?

Poll for Sep 16th 2007 to 22nd Sep. 2007

One of my friend works for a MNC in the US of A. When she started to US for her job after marriage, her Mom categorically told her that she would never baby sit for her kids and that she had enough of bringing up her own kids. So much is the pressure of parenting and the grandmoms asked to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of the children when Moms are at work.
I am sure we have among us great GrandMoms who would find this poll topic more relevant.

Take up this poll topic and share your views.

Other ILites who are not yet married and free birds or young motheres can take up this poll topic and cast their votes as what they would think it appropriate. Imagine your reaction to the poll question when you would become a GrandMa and choose your poll option.

Eager to know your comments on the poll topic.

Hi Laxmi,

I surely will take care of my grand children. When we were young will be having many presures and now we are free and now it will be easy to take care of our own grand children. And by taking care of them we are allowing our own son or daughter, to lead a carefree life which we were notable to do. Let them enjoy the life or let them concentrate on their work. We can take care of the house and children till it is allowed by our health. I love children and surely I will take care of my son. Krishna's issues. That will bring a very good relationship between grand parents and grand children apart from the generation gap. We can share our experience, stories about their parents to them. We can develope good habits in them and we can do many more. so I am waiting for that golden day of my life.

Hi laxmi,

Interesting topic for a poll.

Let me honestly think before i answer...I may not want to be a full time baby sitter...as my daughter/son will then not have time for their children...
With times changing...if they have kids..it would be at an very later stage of my life..where i maynot have the strength to baby sit....So that sums up what i will do if i am a grandmom.

Coming to the present scenario..... I would like to talk about this incident that happened to a friends friend.....

The grandparents had gone on a visit to u.s. The parents were at work. the grandfather had told the grandson...to be careful..or he had scolded him..telling him to not behave in a particular manner..the grandson just dialled for social security stating that he was being harassed by his grandfather...grandfather was arrested...when the charges were dropped..the grandfather told he wanted to go back to india....

Today with too much stress levels...and too much demand on careers, i think the grandparents are put too much pressure physically and mentally in lot of cases...there are children who take undue advantage of parents...

Being in nuclear families..the children would not have had time for the parents until they needed them to baby sit their own offsprings...there are lot of cases of this...selfishness...

At the same time...today there are grandparents who are very clear that they want their time for themselves..and would not like to baby sit..they have their justification...we have struggled the whole time to bring the children..career.....we want time for ourselves..


I think both have a valid reason...If there is a balance that can be striked between both the parents and grandparents it could work very well.... it was a joint family with give and take...it would be a different scenario altogether..with the kids having good advantage of the wise,old grandparent.

Hi
I would love to babysit my grandchildren, godwilling in the future. Still time to go..

Regards
USHA

This is ofcourse a very interesting topic. its something common nowadays by the incresing number of grandparents coming to the U.S to babysit. are they coming here for the trip or bec. of real love or what. but they are definetly coming.
i have many years to go but I would love to babysit my grandchildren. i am totally not for daycare so i will go out of my way to babysit. hopefully health should permit.

dear friends,yes it is very sweet to me because 2yrs old Vedagrani(grand daughter)is close to my heart.I always support my daughter-in-law to look after her child