"Grandparenting " course, would you go? ?

No, and I’d be very annoyed if one of my children tried to send me on one.

The article in the Guardian reads as if the courses are an attempt to persuade some grandparents to fit in with whatever rules their AC operate under as parents. Grandparents who do their own thing are fairly impervious to anyone else’s opinion, so the idea seems doomed to failure to me!

Thank you @MissAdventure and @Grams2five. I tried interesting Gransnet in it when I started but they weren't interested at all.

sarahcyn

Sounds pretty good, I also support the idea of paediatric first aid, I have done two adult first aid courses and would certainly do the child one if and when I ever have more grandchildren. I also think the allergy thing is very valid too.

sarahcyn - towards the end of my career ( early years practitioner, school lead on looked after children) I attended some courses on what we now know about brain development, attachment theories and so on in the infant years. I found it utterly fascinating and useful to me in my work. There was a television series called " The Secret Life of Babies" which was absolutely amazing.
We're never too old to learn.

Too late for me now as GSs are nearly grown up, but I'd have been glad of a baby refresher course as an expectant granny. A lot of the advice had changed, all of which my rule-bound lawyer daughter thought she had to follow exactly, in contrast to her and her brother's infancy in the anything-goes early 70s. We both found GSs' infancy quite stressful. (Annabel Karmel, anyone?)

I’m not a grandma yet, but I think it’s an interesting idea. Ideas do change from one generation to the next (and sometimes come full circle) and it never hurts to know the modern way of doing things, which might be very different. A friend of mine is a grandmother to a seven month old baby and she was telling me just how different things are now, particularly weaning. Our ways worked for us but it doesn’t mean that they were necessarily the best ways. I think a course like this could be very helpful, possibly a one day course. I also like the idea of a paediatric first aid course.

For sure yes. I do a lot of work with new parents and often a big stress point is their parents do not understand how now we know better we do better. I did that with you and you survived is a pretty low bar. Some GPS undermine the parents trying for example, to give solids way before 6 months, and it is so stressful for the parents trying to do the right thing.

@oodles exactly what I find with my new parent clients.
We know so much more about the baby’s gut than we did before. I don’t really get why anyone would feel affronted at the suggestion that knowledge has changed, yet the same people will accept that knowledge about, for example, how cancers develop has developed considerably in the past 30-40 years.

sarahcyn, neither do I. Grandparents seem to take any advice about child rearing as criticism of their parenting rather than an update based on new research. Even First Aid courses have changed over the years so a refresher is advised.
I do remember having a bit of a shock moment when my DIL wrote her list of instructions but after thinking about it and doing a bit of research, I realised that it was actually me who was out of step. It was a light bulb moment that I might not be as perfect as I thought I was.

kittylester

Surely, people discuss these things with their children.

This

That's it, it can often be taken as criticism of their parenting, but when we know better we do better. We think back to how our babies were in car seats/carrycots/in the car etc and compare it to how our parents did the car, if they had one, now we look to what is available now and how much safer it is for children in cars nowadays. we did what was best at the time, and are happy to move on, hope this is a non-controversial example.
And yes, how a baby's gut develops, about allergies, which have always been a thing but often put down to fussiness, many other things, and I think it's a biggie, how a baby's mind develops. A good read on this is a book by Margot Sunderland, published both as The Science of Parenting and What Every Parent Needs to Know:, She is a top Child psychologist, who has worked with children for decades.
Another thing is that unless you are around babies and small children, people forget what really happened, and what it was like living 24/7 with a small person. It wasn't always how you remembered it, I know cos I was there. For example, it was regrettably not uncommon for babies to be given meds to make them drowsy, or as I once witnessed, whisky sucked off a finger. Someone I knew back then tried to persuade me to give a common antihistamine to my teething baby, now not allowed for such young children, I was aghast, no way would I ever do that, but I was told that most mums used it, it wasn't a big deal, well it was a big deal to me. Also, many parents have to both work nowadays, it did happen back 40 years ago when I started having babies, but not so common, so life is so different.

One thing I didn't realise is that nowadays parents are advised to remove coats whilst using a car seat. Apparently it is unsafe. That wasn't a problem in my day...you didn't even have to have a seat!
Babies are less wrapped up too as heat is a problem. I have sat listening to people criticising a parent because the child is much less dressed than it was in our day but the parent is actually doing the right thing. So many little things that don't seem much but can make quite a difference.

icanhandthemback the problem with coats, especially padded ones, and car seats is that you can't fasten the straps snug enough against their body to hold the baby or child securely.
Best advice is to tuck the coat or a blanket round the child, if they need it, on top of the straps.
Most cars are warm enough though these days.

Iam64

kittylester

Surely, people discuss these things with their children.

This

Yes, the parents of the babies might have different ideas from those methods taught on a grandparenting class anyway.

V3ra

icanhandthemback the problem with coats, especially padded ones, and car seats is that you can't fasten the straps snug enough against their body to hold the baby or child securely.
Best advice is to tuck the coat or a blanket round the child, if they need it, on top of the straps.
Most cars are warm enough though these days.

Yes, I know that now but when I first had a grandchild I didn't and that was really my point. These sorts of things would come up on a course for Grandparents which is why I think it is a good idea.

icanhandthemback indeed 👍
There's always some new development to take onboard where safety is concerned!

Anything I needed to know about grandparenting my DS and DDiL told me.

Aspects of child care, parenting and grandparenting are constantly covered in the media plus any advances in paediatric medecine. If you are widely read you will have read these and imbued the knowledge they contain.

It is always a balancing acts with courses that essentially aim to teach you what you already know. Every course requires in investment of your time - and usually your money, so it is a balance between whether the extra knowledge you gain is worth the investment of your time and money.

I listened to something about this on the radio this morning. Evidently it’s been asked for by grandparents, with some of the things they need to know e.g. How to tell, which is the front and the back of a disposable nappy.
Reading comments on social media, I think it would only work if parents and grandparents went on the same course. Imagine a grandparent going on a course to learn how to do it that doesn’t match how the parents want you to do it.
With babies I did what was asked re feeding, sleep position etc.
Car seats and push chairs are like microwaves-all different.

Pushchairs could do with a course devoted just to them.

missadventure we have them come in the charity shop and I can never open and shut them they are a law unto themselves

I thought I'd have to carry grandson around in my arms, secretly.
I was shown lots of times, but I still never got it

MissAdventure

Pushchairs could do with a course devoted just to them.

I could have done with that course!!!
There were lots of things I learned when my GCs were smaller. The array of equipment necessary for them I would have liked more information and practice. Baby-led weaning had me hovering.waiting for the choking which never came. A course might have made me less anxious. They learned Makaton at nursery and I picked up a little, but more would have been great.
There is so much to learn about children, Lots of people do courses in all sorts of things as they grow older. Why shouldn't one be on Grandparenting?

I've been quite interested lately in videos showing how soon a baby can learn to sign what they want - long before they can talk.

I would be nervous about having responsibility for a small baby now, without at least instructions (written ones!)

MissAdventure

I've been quite interested lately in videos showing how soon a baby can learn to sign what they want - long before they can talk.

I would be nervous about having responsibility for a small baby now, without at least instructions (written ones!)

It was fascinating. My GD took to it more than my GS and still signed things when she could talk.

My autistic Grandson had to use Makaton before he could talk and occasionally he still uses it. I had to learn it as I was looking after him but I've already forgotten it!