its so hard looking after my lovely GC

If you are new, then welcome!

Other G'netters have said the same thing, so I don't think you are alone! (or grumpy, for that matter)

I do know another gran who has her GC several days days a week and sails through looking calm and glamorous whereas i turn up at the Nursery gate with jam in my hair, no make up and smallest GC in mismatched socks having a tantrum! i am SO exhausted!

Stacigran , you were quite a lot of years younger when you had your own remember .
We go to see ours on a very frequent basis but they do puff us out a bit at times. Still would not have it any other way .
If you are a Newbie enjoy your time here , it CAN be fun !

Thanks, i am new! Hoping to find some sympathy, at least, as its thin on the ground at home! Perhaps I am just more disorganised than when i was a mum. Also my home is not really set up for the whirlwind of activity!

Welcome!

I had my 4yr old DGS for a sleepover last week which we both enjoy. I collected him Friday in time for tea at ours & delivered him back to his after tea on Saturday.
By which time I was totally shattered! Even though he is pretty easy to look after & much better behaved at mine.
I used to be a child minder & there were always lots of children in our house. I look back now & wonder how I coped but it just seemed easy at the time.
Mind you, even vacuuming the house seems like hard work these days.

Welcome, stacigran. I used to find looking after the dgcs exhausting but thankfully that stage doesn't last forever.

Welcome, you are not alone. Two years ago when our GC were 2 and 4, we found them very wearing - and we do not provide regular weekly childcare as we live too far away.

Now they are 4 and 6 we find life a lot easier, they have enough language to express their wants, they are generally amenable to reason, know how to sit at a table and eat properly and they are both potty trained. We do get the occasional tantrum. Generally we find that if we treat them like dogs and take them out for a good long run every day or to play for a long time in the play ground, where we can sit down intermittently, they are less exhausting when they get home.

Have you discussed your tiredness with their parents? Perhaps you could take them to children's sessions at a local leisure centre or swimming lessons, where you can sit and watch other people take care of them

staci You don't say how old you are, but I when I have my 2yr old dgd for a day, I'm absolutely exhausted. I don't think I'd survive a 4yr old as well!
I'm 67 and reasonably fit.

I think that many of us can sympathize with you stacigran. Am I going off key or am I right to say that our grandchildren of today seem to need a lot more attention and entertaining that say a generation ago. I am quite pleased that my grandchildren are almost at the stage that I won't be caring for them in the school holidays. DH and I have found the easiest entertainment has been taking them to the beach (luckily it is nearby) and on picnics to the countryside where they have really enjoyed being outdoors. Of course all this relies on good weather!! If we are indoors with them all day we are knackered for the few days after!! It takes us some time to recover.

Welcome. You are very lucky to be looking after them but I know it can be draining. Sounds like a bit of time invested in getting prepared for the weekly onslaught. Do you have plenty of toys and puzzles? If not, could their parents sort you out some from home. Maybe things that they would be pleased to see on a weekly basis and that are not too space-consuming for you to store.Then when you get out the Duplo or whatever it will be a treat.
Also somewhere there is a really good thread on occupying small children -
Dig back through grandparenting threads and you will probably find it. Things like giving them a washing up bowl of bubbles.
DVDs and baths are the only way I know to "turn them off" for a while - could you do bath time at yours and return them washed and pyjamaed? Possible to spin bath time out for ages if they have a few things to play with. Means gran gets to sit on the toilet seat and do nothing for at least half an hour. [grin-
Finally on the days you don't get them - do you do any exercise to boost your strength, resilience and energy?

I so know how you feel. I have my grandchildren 5, 3 & almost 2 on a Friday. Even if I take them to a ballpark it's hard work. How can I watch the youngest when the 3 year old is hurling himself down the slide. Because their all so close in age they are always via ing for individual attention. All I can hear are their little voices shouting "and me and me" I'm run ragged. But I love them so. When I go to their house and ring the bell 3 chubby hands try to poke through the letter box. I can hear them shouting "nanna nanna" and their faces light up with delight when they see me. They are the youngest of my 8 grandchildren so I know how quickly they will grow. Every Friday I just brace myself for a day of love and chaos.

Hi and welcome stacigran.

I had 5 children but when DD3 has been round for half a day with her two under twos I'm ready for bed by the time I've put the house to rights.

But, when the almost 2 year old walks in the door and flings his arms round my knees - I don't care about the house or the exhaustion.

Welcome Stacigran. I looked after our two on Tuesday and I was exhausted when I got home. The expression "herding cats" springs to mind.

Yup! - it's blooming hard work when you are not in the first flush! You are not alone!

I know just how you feel I've had my 2 here today and they have shattered me. I could sit and cry and that's before i've tidied up.

I don't know how you cope with 2! I have my granddaughter 3 full days a week, she is now 2 and 4 months and I have had her since she was a year. I love her to bits, she makes me smile all the time and to hear her little voice say ' I love you nanny' makes it all worthwhile. I have taught her loads, we cook, go for nature walks, visit swing parks and zoos when the weather is fine, cut and paste, draw, play games, sing together and twice a week we attend toddler groups- my life savers.

I have enjoyed every minute (despite the inevitable tantrums at times) but in March her mum, my daughter goes on maternity leave and no I will not be looking after 2, at 63 I just know I haven't the energy. I take my hat off to you!

You have hit the nail on the head. Sometimes I just have one of them at a time and I enjoy that so much more. when they are together there is constant squabbling and fighting and also a lot of vying for attention, trying to out shout each other. Also they get into a lot of mischief that neither one would do on their own. It is awful to say but i long for the time when they are a bit older. Dreadful to be wishing their young lives away!
Is your daughter ok with your decision not to have them both?

Yes she is fine. She knows that it would be too much and she is hoping to give up work for a while anyway after baby is born. Her partner is in the army so she knows I am always available.

Stacigran, welcome to GN. You are definitely not alone in finding it tiring looking after young GC. There is a reason why we are designed to have kids when we are young. I find it really challenging coping with my two, aged 1 and 4, the 4 year old having regular tantrums over silly things.
I love having them but love waving goodbye. My other GC is 6 and is an absolute delight, it does make a big difference when they are a bit older.
Although I enjoy every minute and am mindful of the poor GNs who have no contact with their own GC. I would rather be worn out then heartbroken.

Well said Thistledoo your right my husband tells me that all the time.

yes, yes, I so agree. I would be heartbroken if they lived further afield; I dont know how other people cope with that scenario. I try to enjoy them as much as i can but I know I will enjoy it much more when they are a wee bit older. it's so differnt to being a mum isn't it. Thanks .

stacigran here's another who feels the same. I remember exclaiming, at the age of 33, whilst crawling round on the floor with my two youngest, 'I'm getting too old for this lark!' No wonder that I feel shattered 32 years later, when I've had a couple of grandchildren for the day. I build in 'vegging out on the sofa' time with iPad games, DVDs, books etc. or I will tell them to play quietly whilst I have a cup of tea. I do have to put my foot down if they get boisterous, but give them some leeway to let rip for a while first. It's nice to see them go back to mum and the following day I usually do very little. Couldn't do it more than the odd day a week and a couple of hours at a time, or babysitting whilst they're in bed. As you say, it's different in your own home, where it's not geared to children living there permanently - they just gravitate to the next toy or activity at home.

Welcome to GN stacigran

I live with two of my DGC 7 and 5 yrs and have been full time carer for them both from when the little one was 6 mths old.
I find being organised is the key if I am organised I can then enjoy the children, but having things that occupy them helps try to mix things up so they are doing a variety of activities as their attention span is short.

At 2 and 4 they love noise, let them make some muscial instruments from old washing up bottles filled with pasta or anything that makes different noises a big pan and wooden spoon (you might need some ear plugs), and arty things you can get all manner of arty things that they can do from that age, try the easy painters from ELC they are paint but look like a large felt tip pen but they contain water paint and dont spill so it reduces the mess and a roll of unused wallpaper, try filling trays with water paint and let them do some hand painting or fill icecream tub lids with paint and let them make foot print pictures if they are busy they are easier to control. Have a quiet time with a book or a jigsaw, or build with duplo relax and have fun.

Yes you will be exhausted but its worth it.

Dont be fooled by the glamorous Gran you will have heard of "All calm and serene on the surface,but paddling like hell underneath"?, well some are just better at hiding it than others.