Yummygran you are me a few years down the line. My granddaughter has just turned three. I am the paternal grandmother and as such feel I have far less influence than the other side. My son and his girlfriend split just under a year ago, but he does make every effort to see a lot of his daughter and play a big part in her life.
I could have wept when my granddaughter was a mere 6 months old and her mother and maternal grandmother had her ears pierced, my son wasn't consulted about this it was presented to him as a fait accompli, I did post about this before on a forum specifically about babies and little girls with pierced ears. It's really hard when you know that the mother of your child sees things in a completely different way to you, I do put some of it down to a generational thing. I also hate the way people plaster their children all over Facebook. I think it's wrong for a multitude of reasons, I think it should be the child's right to remain anonymous until old enough to make an informed choice to post their own photos. I don't think anyone ever considers that.
My granddaughter often has painted nails, that doesn't concern me too much, I know little girls often ask to have this done. I did hate the way she swivels her hips to a song that goes "I'm sexy and I know it" my husband and I told her she isn't sexy because she's a little girl. She has stopped doing this, with us at least. There are a multitude of other things that drive me nuts, inappropriate stupid poorly fitting shoes because of what they look like. I buy her three good pairs of Clarke shoes a year because I think it's important to have her foot properly measured but her mother has a compulsion to match everything and often we pick her up and we get to the park to find the shoes she has on are completely inappropriate for jumping, climbing and running about. I always keep welly boots and my house for her so we don't have to worry about her feet getting muddy and wet and she is often happiest in situations where she can jump in puddles and run through leaves.
Another annoying thing is that my granddaughter instinctively does a lot of the right things, she is happy to walk, hates being in a buggy and will walk a hell of a long way, seemingly without getting tired. I don't think she gets enough exercise too long in front of the t.v. at both her mother's and other grandparents' house. Her favourite food is broccoli, baked fish and mashed potato she loves it she always asks us for it for dinner when she comes to us once a week. Just lately she asked me why couldn't I give her Coke and crisps because that's what her other grandmother gives her, who just so happens to be really fat. I did tell that fizzy drinks are full of sugar and crisps are full of fat and neither are good for her, I don't care if she repeats that back. I think it's awful giving a child of three rubbish like this, we all know they will discover junk food sooner or later but why offer it to them, and at such an early age it's just encouraging bad eating habits.
I'm having her on Thursday and we are going to see a production of the Gruffalo, one of her favourite stories at a local theatre. Childhood is very brief and to be enjoyed, without trying to turn little girls into pre pubescent adolescents before their time.