Parenting News: Mums are Run-Ragged by Kids After They’ve Been Returned from Grandparents
Every child loves going to their grandparents due to getting spoilt rotten whenever they visit, but mums feel rather differently about packing the children off to their grandparents.
Although they may enjoy a welcomed break for a few hours, many mums seem to think it isn’t worth it as their kids leave them run-ragged after they’ve returned from their grandparents.
Due to kids getting a later bedtime, being allowed to eat whatever they want, and watching whatever they want on TV at their grandparents, four out of ten mums feel run-ragged when their kids are returned to them.
Things get so bad, that a quarter of parents avoid letting their kids visit their grandparents and a further quarter refuse to let them stay the night if they do visit.
To add to this, one in five mothers and fathers will row with their parents or in-laws over how much they spoil the children.
A spokesperson for family comedy film Parental Guidance, which commissioned the study to mark its release on Blu-ray and DVD said, “It’s widely accepted that it’s a grandparents’ job to spoil their grandchildren.
“After bringing up their own children, they get to sit back and enjoy the youngsters for short periods of time, knowing they can hand them back to their parents afterwards.
“This means they get to enjoy spoiling them as well as letting them do what they want to avoid any tantrums or bad moods while they are looking after them.
“But while this means they get an easier life, the survey results suggest it can be a nightmare for parents as children return home expecting their Mum and Dad to carry on the same way.
“The survey revealed both parties need to find some middle ground so they are all happy and grandparents can still enjoy the time with the children while parents don’t have such a battle when they get home.”
Food seemed to cause plenty of trouble when the kids visited their grandparents, with 83 per cent of parents saying their kids would get spoilt with chocolate and cakes.
Grandparents were found to let kids eat whatever they wanted to and a third would let the kids off if they didn’t finish their main meal.
Letting the kids off with general naughty behaviour was also a common problem, with 45 per cent of parents saying their kids would ace more spoilt and misbehave more when returning from their grandparents.
Kids were more likely to answer their parents back as well as ignoring their parents altogether!
To try and combat the problems, parents have also tried to give their parents a list of do’s and don’ts but they suspect that they are often ignored.
Despite all the bad behaviour, parents feel they have no other choice but to put up with it as 45 per cent rely on their child’s grandparents for childcare.
Do you experience any bad behaviour from your kids when they’ve stayed with their grandparents? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @FemaleFirst_UK
Tagged in Parenting childcare Grandparents Mums Parenting News