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6 year old grandson doesnt like me - Help please

(35 Posts)
Basing23 Fri 24-Jun-11 17:30:25

Hello - first time writer!!

I would appreciate some advice please. I have tried everything i know -

I am fine with my other grandchildren but this 6 year old does not like me - He is very rude to me if he speaks to me but most of the time he would rather ignore me - He does not say hello or goodbye to me - I do say it to him every time and try very hard not to take any of this to heart. Actually i feel ridiculous that I am letting a 6 year old child get to me
.
I cannot think of anything i have done to alienate him - he has the same treats etc - he is not the youngest or the oldest of my grandchildren -

I find it hard to handle him - he puts his hands over his ears if we are out and I ask him to wait for me to cross the road etc.,

His parents do admonish him and i feel now that he dislikes me more because he has been told not to be so rude to me - if he really gets into big trouble then he is p[leasant to me in front of them - he is never loving though and it has been like this since he was 3

I really would appreciate some help !

Best wishes to everyone
Lynne

Amber Wed 29-Jun-11 11:19:39

Hi Basing23 like you I have never writen on this site before, I had a problem with my 1st GD when she was just a baby my son and Dil would bring her to our home, she was fine with my Husband, but as soon as she heard my voice or saw me she would start wailing, we put it down to the fact she was very poorly as a baby with broncolitis so could only sleep upright, her mum would sit up with her all night while I did the day shift, so her first memories of me (although probably subconcious) was of a time when all was not well in her world. this lasted for about 2 years, she is now 12 and lovely,

sandra Thu 30-Jun-11 11:11:11

Jangley - I do realise that children are children and as such behave differently to the rest of us. I didn't need to 'read the posts more carefully', but thanks for the advise!
I was simply pointing out that, in my experience at work, by the time a lot children are teenagers they treat people with little or no respect for their feelings and don't seem to think it matters what they say or do to others. If this sort of behaviour was dealt with in a different way at a younger age maybe things would be different.
I know that if I had been unkind or hurtful to my grandparents, or indeed any adult, my parents would have been furious with me as would I with my own children. Children need to be taught to respect others right from the start, it's part of teaching them to be better adults surely.
Or maybe it's just me, I don't believe in putting children on pedestals. Too many little price/princesses out there already.

Faye Thu 30-Jun-11 13:31:41

sandra you will love being a grandmother. I can't think of anything I love more. I actually don't put up with any rudeness from any of my five grandchildren and they love me to bits. No one has to be a doormat and children do need to learn at an early age that they need to be polite, kind and nice to other people, whether it's their parents, grandparents, siblings, other adults or their friends. It's the same as sharing, they need to learn that they have to share, these sorts of things are best learnt at an early age.
I always tell all of them that I love them. The five year old is not as affectionate as the others, he is like this with everyone and was not a cuddly baby. He gets kissed and hugged the same as the others, I can't help myself, he moans but puts up with it. He was explaining to me last time I was staying that I could live with them. One thing I will never do and that is to have favourites, I love them all and I always tell them so.
Basing23 recently my grandson didn't want to hold my hand when we were crossing a busy road on the way to school, he was carrying on all the way and he knew I was really cross with him. I felt bad when we arrived at his school and when his mother came home I told her what had happened and she said he had done the same to her father and to her before. My grandson was happy when I picked him up that day, the morning incident forgotten. He is a child and as much as I love him I won't tip toe around him.

sandra Thu 30-Jun-11 14:41:54

Faye - Thanks for your wise words. I'm sure I'll enjoy being a Grandma. We seem to be on the same wavelength! I have 3 fab sons who each have partners/wives I love as if they were my own so I'm sure their little ones will be divine!! Well most of the time anyway!!! LOL

gkal Thu 30-Jun-11 15:10:26

GrandmaAnge I agree with you that it is best not to make a fuss about it.

Basing23 I know it hurts to be treated like that but I think the secret is to stay warmly "available" but to just ignore him and treat him as part of the furniture. I think there is a control thing going on here. One of my sons (the younger one) was selectively mute with anyone other than his parents and brother, up to the age of 5-6 (the boys unfortunately had no living grandparents - it would have been wonderful if they had). We finally attended family counselling to try to sort out the problem. Within minutes a psychologist got him talking. How? He asked the elder boy in the presence of the younger one what kind of biscuits his brother liked. The younger one immediately butted in "jaffa cakes!" thus breaking his own rule of staying mute with strangers.

I think if a child is not going to interact with you pleasantly then I would be tempted to put, say, a little treat on a table and say out loud that that is xxxx's treat, pretending he is not in the room. He might come and claim his treat but try to interact in some way with you - I would just give him a little smile. You might have to try this a few times. Maybe he would welcome a way out of the way he has been behaving - it was certainly what happened with my son's selective mutism.

jangly Thu 30-Jun-11 16:55:03

sandra. yes, you are quite right. Children should not be allowed to be rude or hurtful to people. I do know what the kids in school are like at the moment as my daughter teaches in a secondary school and she tells me how they all seem to think everything is theirs by right and the parents often seem to feel the same way.
Relationships with our nearest and dearest are always going to be very personal things, and everybody is different.
But I think you will enjoy being a granny. smile

Charlotta Thu 30-Jun-11 18:06:46

Maybe he doesn't find his grandmother interesting at the moment, kissing and cuddling are boring to a little boy of 6. My GS (7) is always playing with technical toys and reading comics or football magazines, and although he says hello and goodbye he doesn't want kissing. He is in love with his Mum at the moment, he adores her and when I am there it is because she has had to go out, so he's not going to be chatty in the mood that he is in.

Give your GS some space, this is often underestimated in some families and perhaps he needs it.

jangly Thu 30-Jun-11 19:16:30

Charlotta, I think you've probably hit the nail on the head. I sometimes think , "look, you're nearly seventy, why the hell would he want you to kiss and hug him?!". On the other hand, I know theres a lot of winding up goes on. grin grrr.

dorsetpennt Mon 04-Jul-11 13:30:38

I think the advice from Magsie is good advice. Get his mother to have a little chat with the GS regarding his behaviour. It could be something quite small but not in his mind small. Or it's just a phase. Just don't try and win him over with extra treats etc., he'll soon cotton on to that and continue to be unpleasant. Just let him know you love him despite everything. I bet it'll soon be back to normal.