Gone Soft

Until I had my grandson I was quite happy watching serials involving murders / trafficking / robbery, etc, but now if I settle down to watch a programme if there is a child involved I can’t watch it.

Once my children were born I became over sensitive to any suffering of any children. Even worse now I'm a gran.

Omg ... this really hit home. Ever since he was born I have been like it, yet I have two grand daughters .... if I hear about a child being hurt, injured or abused, I can’t help but feel physically anxious .... I see kids faces crying with hurt that is caused by these monsters .... I do so hate hearing him cry ... sobbing just breaks me ... even when he’s crying over something daft.
I had 4 children and never felt so upset when they cried over something, but the thought of anyone hurting a child just paralyses me now

I don't cry easily, only if it's my own AC GC or GGC but those occasions have been really rare.
I never have cried at films or when reading a book.
The only book which touched me was The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho which I've read dozens of times.
I know for a fact that I read two news articles, decades ago, which brought me to tears.
One was a front page photo in the Mirror, showing an emaciated 5yr old Biafran boy carrying his smaller sister on his back in search of a food drop (aid). The landscape showed nothing but miles of brown earth, bare of vegetation.
The second was in another paper which showed a little girl eating a crisp. This child had been abducted after asking mum for pennies for an ice-cream from the van in their cul-de-sac.
She was later found in an understairs cupboard in the house of a local man...in a bag.
I could willingly have done away with him and cried long after the news had faded.

I think maybe some of it is that after I had cancer, I toughened up. My students at school didn't seem to notice the difference, but I definitely became a LOT more selfish, putting myself first most of the time.

Since the birth of GS, I think he's broken through the shell I'd developed.

I was never a fan of small kids before this. I found toddlers irritating and annoying, much preferring teenagers. But I'm a puddle of goo with the lovely boy. :-)

Oh yes Gagajo We are the same. We have one granddaughter who is now a teenager. I never thought about having grandchildren but this girl has taken over our lives! My DH is worse than me. When she was small, if she so much as coughed he would look stricken. He won't watch any TV programmes that involve harm coming to children or young women. We weren't this bad with our own daughter.

I am the same, and I think it's a common thing because I notice that there are lots of charity appeals on afternoon TV which obviously targets seniors. It breaks my heart to see the children suffering and also the animals, but I haven't got the funds to save them all

Yes I am just the same. When I had my children I was young and hard working and hadn't time for too much sentiment. Now that I am older and have 4 grand children and past the menopause then I am a right cry baby. I hate those adverts for those poor children and animals on an afternoon but I too cannot afford to support them all. I give to Cancer Research as my dad died of Cancer. I also give to the Air Ambulance as they do fantastic work. Then I also knit dog blankets for Battersea Cat/Dogs home, so I feel like I do my bit.

I think the love you have for your grandchildren is like concentrated squash, even, impossibly , stronger than that for your children. Lord knows how I’ll feel if lucky enough to see a great grandchild!