We love our grandkids, and no one wants to be seen counting the cost of having them visit or stay over. In our recent articles, we’ve looked into how to budget for feeding, entertaining, and buying gifts for the kids we love best, but there’s another cost that comes with grandchildren, and it’s one we simply can’t afford to ignore. We’re talking about the cost to our own health. Read on to find out how grandchildren can impact it!
Be a body builder
If you’re in touch with grandparents who are regularly looking after grandchildren, especially littlies who require lifting, carrying and pushing in buggies or strollers, you’re almost certain to have heard tales of pulled muscles, frozen shoulders, and strained backs. This is because a typical toddler weighs around 9-12kg. Which is similar to the weight of a supermarket sack of flour or a car tyre, and twice as heavy as your average moggy. These are not weights most seniors lift on a regular basis, so it’s no wonder when the grandies come calling, your body feels the strain. What’s more, ageing is accompanied by loss of muscle mass, so when you do lift a little one in and out of the pram, or push a stroller over uneven ground, it’s your joints that bear the brunt. If you want to be able to help, and enjoy, your grandchildren, whether through minding littlies, kicking a ball with the tweenies, or surfing with the teens, it pays to get yourself in shape by signing up for age-appropriate fitness classes. Check out the net for suggestions, but always consult your medical professional before you begin any new form of exercise.
Fatigue
If you find yourself exhausted when the grandchildren go home, you’re not alone. Fetching, carrying, cleaning, cooking, tidying, and laundering all play a significant part of having the grandies come to stay, or even to visit. Which is why, around the country, grandparents are taking action to minimise the impact hosting grandkids has on their energy levels. Below are some tips to help cut back on fatigue:
Skip the sheets and bring out the sleeping bags.
Sleeping bags do away with the need to make up beds and launder sheets. At most, a light sleeping bag liner is all that needs to go into the wash when the grandkids return home, and for ease of storage, a compression-bag reduces the size of a stuffed sleeping bag to not much more than a shoe box (let older kids have races to see who can stuff their sleeping bag fastest, don’t do it yourself!).
Breakfast rules
In a house where children rise at different times, breakfast can drag on for hours — and so does the mess. To make breakfast happen in one hit, try scheduling a simple, but treaty, breakfast (such as pancakes) at a chosen hour to get all the grandies to the table at one time (be sure to offer seconds to those who volunteer to do the clean-up!).
Sargent major
Turn your house into a fun-time military barrack by donning a suitably military style hat, and conducting bedroom inspections after breakfast. Those who pass the test can be presented with sticker-medals, or some other small treat, at a living-room line-up.
A place for everything
You can’t expect children, especially littlies, to clean up after their activities if there’s no central storage place for equipment. A roll-away container under the bed is ideal for reachable storage, even by small children, and when the grandies go home, it can be confined to the garage.
Lessen the laundry
Keeping a few child-sized aprons in the house will make the world of difference to your laundry load when the grandies are staying, as will child-sized overalls or over-trousers for outdoor activities. Checkout the opp shop to see what’s available.
Taking care of your own health and energy levels is every bit as important as taking care of the grandies – because without one, you can’t have the other!
