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Grandparenting

Grumpy granddaughter

(76 Posts)
Streamertail Fri 13-Jan-23 14:27:06

The other day whilst making cup cakes with my GD we had a bit of a falling out over the colour of the icing and she went into a bit of a sulk She sat writing notes on bits of paper ( she’s 5) and eventually gave a note to me, which said “ nanny is F**** stupid( spelling was off , but context was good! ) I explained how upset I was and got her to apologise , then we burnt the note and said no more about it! However it still upsets me and I find myself not wanting to see her as much at the moment, Not sure what to do

MerylStreep Fri 13-Jan-23 18:35:37

I’d forgotten about the burning bit. I’d have kept it for a few years down the line 😂

Callistemon21 Fri 13-Jan-23 18:24:36

Oh I I do get the icing thing too
Really?

but you did deal with it well at the time
Not sure setting fire to paper with a 5 year old was a good idea.

Callistemon21 Fri 13-Jan-23 18:21:57

Grammaretto

I'm also interested in the colour of the icing
grin

I bet it was dinosaur green!
(Were dinosaurs green?)
Germolene pink?

Daisymae Fri 13-Jan-23 18:21:08

My GC are in their teens and I can honestly say I have never heard them swear. I find it odd that a 5 year old would know the f word let alone be able to use it in the correct context. I don't blame you for being upset. I would certainly speak to the parents but you did deal with it well at the time. Hopefully you can carry on as normal and put this behind you. Oh I I do get the icing thing too.

Callistemon21 Fri 13-Jan-23 18:13:48

BlueBelle

If you go off her, now wait till she’s 15 😂😂😂

😁😁😁

Well, you might not see her, she'll be off out with her friends!

Grammaretto Fri 13-Jan-23 18:12:53

I'm also interested in the colour of the icing
grin

BlueBelle Fri 13-Jan-23 18:05:47

If you go off her, now wait till she’s 15 😂😂😂

Callistemon21 Fri 13-Jan-23 18:03:14

I would have found it hard to keep a straight face with that she had written a note.

I would have to have walked out of the room to re-arrange my face! 😁😲😥🤫🤐

What colour icing did she choose in the end?

AskAlice Fri 13-Jan-23 18:02:39

I think I'd have been more upset about being called stupid! Children are like little sponges and soak up all sorts of information and language from those around them, and not necessarily from only their parents. Did it really matter to you what colour the icing was?

When my oldest DD was about that age, she told me that a little boy in her class had called her the "c" word. With bated breath I asked her if she could try to spell the word (I would have stopped her part way through if it was the word I was obviously thinking of!) and she eventually said "c....o....w" - huge relief all round, though I did explain that it wasn't a particularly nice thing to call her!!

Theexwife Fri 13-Jan-23 17:55:35

I would have found it hard to keep a straight face with that she had written a note. She didn’t realise that writing a swear word was wrong or she would not have done it.

It sounds a bit off that you were arguing about icing and that you are saying about not wanting to see her. She has not done anything that terrible.

MerylStreep Fri 13-Jan-23 17:52:06

Just look upon it as practice for when she gets older 😄

eazybee Fri 13-Jan-23 17:49:55

You did exactly the right thing by explaining how upset her note made you feel, accepting her apology and then burning the note. I expect you feel shaken by a five year old writing that word, which is more unusual than saying it, but she may have picked it up in the playground from older children, off the television or possibly her parents.
Don't dwell on it, but don't tolerate it happening again.

Iam64 Fri 13-Jan-23 17:49:15

however it still upsets me and I find myself nott wanting to see her as much

That does feel like an over reaction on your part. Is there more to this. Of course none of us would encourage swearing but what a bright 5 year old to write down her feelings, express anger without having a tantrum.

It’s lovely to bake or do other activities and avoid upsets wherever possible

M0nica Fri 13-Jan-23 17:43:17

If we all went off our young grandchildren when they did or said something inapropriate, there wouldn't be one grandchild in the country that wasn't in the dog house.

Chidren hear these words, they do not know what they mean, except that they shouldn't say them and they like pushing boundaries.

I expect I did something similar when I was a child, in fact I have just remembered something my mother once said that makes me certain I did. My DC did as well. When they did I just looked at them and said, words to the effect of 'That is not a nice word I do not want to hear it again.' - and that was the end of it.

And so it should be with you, Streamertail

Norah Fri 13-Jan-23 17:33:29

She's five years old! That says it all. Five!

Icing colours? Oh dear, we let children choose.

Be the bigger/older person, don't be a -- (choose any word).

Beechnut Fri 13-Jan-23 17:23:06

rosie1959

Many must have seen the clip of little Ivy when she sees a goat on her garden

It’s just a goat 🤣

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 13-Jan-23 17:18:51

Maybe Calli. I well remember as a toddler in my pushchair early 50s saying bugger bugger bugger. Nobody in the family swore and we didn’t have tv, though I doubt it would have been said on tv or radio then. Probably a made up word but I was left in no doubt that it was not acceptable!

Baggs Fri 13-Jan-23 17:18:37

The moral of this story is that if icing colour matters to you, only have in your favourite colours.

JaneJudge and Yammy, good posts.

Shelflife Fri 13-Jan-23 17:15:28

Are you for real !!!? You actually had a falling out with a five year old over the colour of the icing for the cup cakes?? For goodness sake , I presume you were making cup cakes with your GD for her entertainment/ education and pleasure . Therefore you really should have asked her which colour she would like. As for the F word , whilst very unfortunate,forget it. You should be proud that your five year old GC is clever enough to
write! because of this ' falling out' you feel you don't want to see her very much - didums , poor you! I suspect the feeling is mutual . Please get a grip and grow up.

Yammy Fri 13-Jan-23 17:11:14

It's surprising what 5-year-olds do know and when to say it. As an Infant teacher, I vary rarely heard it if at all in the classroom and it was never used at me.
I did hear it constantly on the playground when on duty and in one area I taught it was every other word with the parents and yet not used in class by their children.
Children are far more intelligent than we give them credit for and in an odd sort of way your GD was very bright to know what to say and writing it down would be even more upsetting to you. I would have been upset as well.
They also have to learn they need to negotiate and just because they are at Granny's they can't always have what they want.

Ali23 Fri 13-Jan-23 17:05:28

I think you handled it well at the time Streamertail. It sounds like she understood that it wasn’t acceptable after your conversation.
I don’t agree with posters who suggest that if she can use the f word she understands it. Children use a lot of words that they don’t fully understand and its by using language that we come to understand it fully.
So hopefully she has learnt something and thats that. 😊

GagaJo Fri 13-Jan-23 17:02:31

We were excited because almost 5 DGS independently wrote cat the other day. I'd be thrilled with a four letter word!

Callistemon21 Fri 13-Jan-23 17:00:36

I'm impressed that a 5 year old is that literate to be honest
Me too, but she was writing lots of notes apparently, so perhaps she was practising. 😁

Germanshepherdsmum perhaps she knew that she shouldn't say that naughty word, so she wrote it instead!

Hithere Fri 13-Jan-23 17:00:07

I am also impressed with how the child handled it and her writing skills

I would have expected her to express her dissatisfaction in a more verbal manner

Somebody was grumpy here but it wasn't the child

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 13-Jan-23 16:57:01

Obviously you can’t control what they hear at school or in the street but I would be extremely upset to hear a child use the word.