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How do you like to reward your grandchildren? Tell LEGO® and win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

(133 Posts)
LaraGransnet (GNHQ) Fri 24-Jul-15 13:19:44

The team at LEGO® would like to hear about the treats and rewards you give your grandchildren.

How do you like to reward or treat your grandchildren? Do you treat them with toys or maybe a day out? How often do you like to treat them? Are treats and rewards saved for special occasions or do you give them one every time you see them? How does treating/rewarding your grandchildren compare with how you treated/rewarded your children?

However you like to treat/reward your grandchildren, LEGO® would love to hear about it!

Please share your thoughts on this thread, and be in with the opportunity to win a £300 Love2Shop Voucher. Every gransnetter who posts a comment will be entered into the prize draw where one gransnetter will win the £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck!
GNHQ

Please note: LEGO® and the LEGO® logo are trademarks of the LEGO® Group.
©2015 The LEGO® Group.

LucyGransnet (GNHQ) Fri 14-Aug-15 17:11:17

Thanks very much for all of your contributions, and congratulations to Annie29, who has won the voucher! Annie do look out for an email coming your way soon.

suelowe Mon 10-Aug-15 18:26:41

Watching a film or TV with them and listening to them explaining the plot or commenting how funny it is without interrupting ...anode is all that's needed...

Worlass Mon 10-Aug-15 16:17:08

My six grandchildren are now adult, so 'treats' usually mean money towards some project or item they are interested in. I do this on an ad hoc basis, giving gifts as and when, although I try to make sure that each gets approximately the same amount overall. I also organise days out to places of interest. I have never given pocket money on a regular basis. When my own daughters were young, I operated very much the same system, although they did each receive regular pocket money from grandparents. When they were older, I would often match any money they saved towards some treat from their pocket money, or occasionally paid them for doing small jobs.

cporteus Sun 09-Aug-15 17:40:57

Sticker books

janerowena Tue 04-Aug-15 11:32:38

I buy mine books usually, and occasionally puzzle or colouring books. They do have sweets, usually a bag of giant chocolate buttons, but we are not a great sweet-eating family. They love Lego, and have a Legoland pass, but it's so expensive now that when they come to stay with me I have to buy them sets on eBay. Even on there it can be pretty pricey, I have to say it does hold its 'value' well. Still, it does keep them occupied for a long time so it's worth it.

lilihu Mon 03-Aug-15 14:15:56

No sweets!
Trips out, walks, swings in the park, small toy or book when something achieved.
Nothing has changed from one generation to the next!

fillygumbo Sun 02-Aug-15 10:15:23

I try not to overdo the treats as I tend to think that they have too much too often! I usually treat them with things like sticker books or little materials for art work.
Birthdays and Christmas are very different and I have just bought my 5year old grandson the lego city starter pack as alas the pile of duplo I had amassed from charity shops is now considered to young.

MyBeadyEye Sat 01-Aug-15 22:44:22

Ice creams, Coffee and Cake and a bit of pocket money. Favourite meals and a go on our iPad!

mirryben31 Sat 01-Aug-15 16:02:16

My grand daughters love books and also colouring , so I tend to buy them amusing story books or colouring books and pens/ pencils. I try to buy unusual colouring pens, such as sparkly or glittery. They also love the pens that smell fruity!

Naomishaw Sat 01-Aug-15 13:47:00

My grandchildren are all under 3 years old so mostly it is just having someone extra to help their Mums with cuddles. Though the oldest seems to like being treated as a baby (she has a one year old brother) so I can spoon feed her and pamper her a little to help her cope with the jealousy of Mum being busy

lejaye Sat 01-Aug-15 12:35:12

My granddaughter is coming to stay next week and I had planned all sorts of treats and activities. I asked her if there is anything special she would like to do as a special treat and despite all my plans, her answer was 'I just want to hang out with you!'

So 'hanging out' is what we will be doing - that's her treat! And surely mine too.

(and if anyone can tell me what 'hanging out' entails, I'd be very pleased to hear!!!)

MammaN Sat 01-Aug-15 11:45:16

Not sure I'd call them treats but we do like to take the children out somewhere when we have them. We like to give them different experiences: ride on a tram, visit to historic house, bluebell walk, fishing; usually with some small educational element. For Christmas I try to find ongoing presents: National Geographical Junior magazine for nature lover etc.. When they were keen on swimming we went to the pool several times. I think a treat is doing something that is important to the individual child.

Our other form of 'treat' is to give money to their parents so that they can afford to go to something e.g Harry Potter World, Disney.

FreddieG Sat 01-Aug-15 08:40:32

I was 'told off' for buying my Grandson too much so now I try to buy him things he 'needs' like the Bee Transformer he really liked, books on things he wants to know more about, small Lego boxes he can put together himself and I take him to the Theatre, that way we have special, quality time together. My Grandson is almost five and was recently a having bad dreams, I told him about Dreamcatchers and asked if he'd like me to make him one, he loved the idea - I panicked as I didn't have a clue how to make it so I went straight on to You Tube and found instructions, I made him one in the colours of the sky, grass, sun and beads in rainbow colours with white feathers for floaty cloud colour. I called it his 'happy' Dream Catcher, made with love. So gifts and rewards don't have to cost big money, he loved his Dreamcatchers and he told me it worked!!
My other reward includes 'stories straight from Nanna's head' !!
When I'm with him at bed time I make up stories which he loves and he falls asleep to quite quickly, probably bored to sleep!
My next treat is to write a book about our family, a kind of family tree, so that my now two Grandchildren can read about how it all started, how my parents met then how my husband and I met. Should make good, funny reading, with lots of pics too. I love them more than chocolate smile. X X

greatmum Fri 31-Jul-15 16:16:49

With my own children it was never sweets,
and ice cream when on holiday, but not everyday! I was so lucky to have a lovely mother in law ! Also FiL, where ever we went ..they came too !! She was a wonderful help for me and my three loved her dearly!!!, she would buy them sweets of their choice once a week after meeting them from school, she also stay for tea , sometimes taking them up to bed, reading a story. I did not have a mother ; but she was as good as that to me! I loved her too.
I would get magazines for them to read, puzzles, and such each week; and often spent time with them reading these. I gave them choice once old enough ...pocket money or outings ?? They chose the latter. We went to woods for walks and climbing,, boating on river for sons b/day in may, to the beach for July daughter, and early Christmas type party for November one! But it kept home clean and tidy by being out at park , swimming pool, or even a couple of times in year the pics to see Disney or such!
We were not wealthy, but I stretched what we had as far as I could !! Oh also tea with Nana every other Sunday! Plus our fair share of visiting relatives too.
Oh and b/days got bigger presents, as in special! Xmas got smaller gifts from us!
When my grand kids came along, I just kept the same pattern! Except they loved to stay over ! And mum and dad loved it too !!
I never fell out with my offspring regards my being second /substitute mum, I helped share load, we continued doing things together, and GT nan and dad also came too! Until they grew too old! At over 80 yrs !!
Happy days sharing our lives !

Dartzie62 Thu 30-Jul-15 12:41:17

There was a time whenever we went to the store, year old Daniel, would scream and want something. I decided enough was enough, told my mother she couldn't keep giving in to him. Imagine how bad I felt when at the till an old man who didn't seem to have much money, went and bought him a chocolate?
I was buying treats each time we went shopping became a rod for our back; so it became a treat as a reward or on holiday.

Barbz22 Thu 30-Jul-15 10:19:33

My Grandchild love my craft room. They love to make things and have said it's like an Aladdin's cave. I always have sparkly things, paper, wool and material. I have taught them to knit and this summer I'm going to teach them to sew and use a sewing machine. They never go home empty handed.

Maren Wed 29-Jul-15 22:36:41

Little bits and pieces from the treat drawer, like a pack if pens, stickers or little notepads that I seem to stockpile

db3745 Wed 29-Jul-15 20:58:12

We have lots of stores in our area, and as I enjoy seeking out bargains in the household goods and food shops, it's only natural that now I have two grandsons my eyes are drawn to the things for them that I haven't looked for since my children were little. I do have to control these urges though as I know how easy it would be to a) spoil them and b) upset Mum by upstaging her when she wants to choose their things herself. I do try then to limit treating till I look after them on an evening while their parents go out, and I tend to leave them a small Lego figure each(which along with superheroes is all they are interested in) for the morning if they go up to bed when I tell them and lie still while I read to them. It seems to work!

wondergran Wed 29-Jul-15 08:01:41

My little grandson lives with me and receives treats frequently although they are not always flagged up as treats as such. As he has difficulty in controlling his behaviour we make a point of telling him that he has received some special treat because his behaviour has been great. This then balances out against the sanctions he receives after an episode of bad behaviour.
Treats are often smallish things, an ice cream, book or toy although he did get a small skateboard recently because his nursery report was excellent.
I definitely treat my GS more than I did my own children, probably because I had 3 children to buy for and only one GS.
It's hard to get the balance right though. I love buying him things and seeing him enjoy them but if it happens too often then they lose the 'special' factor and he starts to take it for granted.
Treats definitely get more elaborate and expensive the older the child gets, it can be a very costly business.

melanieclare2002 Tue 28-Jul-15 17:16:25

I find books and day trips work well, as they are really rewarding and educational, as well as being fun things that we can share together.

Nannacookie Tue 28-Jul-15 15:12:32

My youngest is nine and Autistic. He gets treated daily for good behaviour, a good day at school currently is a cupcake from greggs after school, not very healthy I know but it's been working.
A reward chart and stickers keep us up to date, a good day with no real issues is a £1 pocket money to be paid at the end of every week, so potentially £7 pw pocket money. However. Kieran has been very behind in toilet training so daddy added a £1 for every time he uses the toilet :O Kieran now does at least one poo on the toilet every day which makes his pocket money £14 pw and wouldn't you know it, Kieran has been doing some wee's on the toilet now too. Kieran spends his money on Lego mixels, we even sent a video he made to Lego because it was amazing.
My eldest is 20 and last year she gave me my first grandson, so far he just gets spoilt rotten lol, I do try and take him something everytime I see him but that varies, one day its a packet of goodies csnacks, the next a toy, the next a pair of shoes or babygrows. As he gets older I will try and be more routine in what he gets and what for.

LynnKnowles Tue 28-Jul-15 11:27:46

Being a relatively new Grandma I'm just learning the ropes and have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts.
As I live quite a distance away I do already tend to take something on visits. At the moment mainly outfits, but I'm sure that will change with time.

sandra63 Tue 28-Jul-15 11:07:54

I like to give them books or something educational to play with. They do rather like my baking too!

jmk4646 Tue 28-Jul-15 01:33:06

when they were small it would be a small book or toy ,now they are older its a trip to the cinema (courtesy of Tesco rewards ) , 0r a day at the beach which is near to us

bikerbill Mon 27-Jul-15 22:35:50

I buy small cars from poundland for my grandson to add to his collection. They don't cost much but he does love them. He is only 2.5 years and I expect the price of the treats will increase soon.