My friend Denise, from Payson, Utah, shared her ideas about Grandma Camp which were great ideas for great fun! She has shared more of her ideas with me. She said:

“Relax. Don’t be uptight all the time. Always make your lap available. Be willing to take your grandchild on your lap for a hug, a snuggle, a chat, a story, or for a loving moment. Don’t choreograph every event or gathering because it never works out the way you planned. (Note from Digi-Gram: And, when it doesn’t work out like you planned, don’t get uptight about it!)

“When you have your grandchildren over for an extended time, you ought to have a family information sheet for each of your grandchildren. The information sheet should include things such as insurance information, allergies, medications, doctors name and number. It would be a good idea, too, to have a release for treatment in the event you need to take a grandchild to the hospital. (Which I hope you never have to do!!)

“Another suggestion is to get the schedule of your grandchildren’s baseball or basketball or football games. That way you will know when they are. Then, you have the option of going to the game if you are available.

“Also, be definite about your cookie jar rule. Does it stay off limits until after dinner? When and how often can the grandchildren get a cookie? Also, you need to let your grandchildren know where they can eat their treats or have food in your home. If you don’t want them eating food in the living room, the grandchildren need to know this. Make sure the grandchildren respect the grandma’s home. (Note from Digi-Gram: Discuss this with your kids so that when your children are at your home with their children, they will support you in the rules of your home. The reverse of this applies, too. Know the rules of your children’s home and support them in their rules.)

“Another thing. If the parents (your children) have specific rules about what they don’t want their kids to eat, grandma needs to honor that. (From Digi-Gram: For example, if they don’t want their kids to chew gum, you need to respect that and not give your grandchildren gum. Or, if the parents don’t want your grandchildren to have lots of sweets and sugar, make sure that you don’t gorge your grandchildren with sugary goodies.)

“We publish a birthday list for all of the family to have. We also publish a family events and traditions page. For example, we always watch the 4th of July fireworks from our son’s porch. We go down to our property the first week-end in April, and the first week-end in October for a camp out. We always have a bowling tournament in February with prizes and trophies. We give prizes to the ones who bowled a high score without using bumpers, to the person with the high score using bumpers, and the person with the highest score for a series of games. The overall winner gets a trophy that is a clock with a bowling pin. That prize gets rotated to the next year’s winner.

“I had an agreement with my mother that worked out well for us. If I needed a babysitter and my mother was available to babysit that would be fine. But if my mother didn’t feel like babysitting, she could say no and I would not be offended.

“I also want to leave my grandchildren my will of ethics. I want them to know that I support local politics, that I am honest and work hard and that I will follow through with what I said I would do. I want to instill in them my religious beliefs. And most important, I want them to know that family is very important.”

Wonderful ideas, Grandma Denise. Thank you so much for sharing them!

Digi-Gram

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