My husband has 2 beautiful granddaughters. I love them...they're sweet girls. They're also very attached to me. We babysit them about once a month at a minimum...sometimes more often.
Here's the issue.
We're planning on moving closer to my husband's family (currently we're about 4 hours away)...which is great. However, I'm a little worried about being too close because of potential babysitting issues.
Again, I adore the kids but they're definitely raised differently than I'm used to. In my family, there's just a lot more discipline. For instance, when I was a kid and with my own kids there were rules. We/they weren't allowed to scream, destroy furniture (standing on it, jumping on it, eating on it), interrupt adult conversations, etc.
These children are being raised differently. They're very, very, very loud. They scream, yell, run into walls, fight and interrupt. They're being raised to always be the center of attention...either through positive or negative behavior. There is very little real discipline and very little follow-through on behavior issues. In fact, I think they're parents somehow find their extreme behavior funny and charming. And they're allowed to raise their kids however they see fit...the problem comes in when we have to babysit...its literally exhausting and I have lots of energy. These kids just never stop.
We both have demanding careers...so weekends are precious time for me to relax, catch up on sleep, and have quiet/relaxing time. I've already raised my kids and I'm younger than my husband so I'm not yet really in the phase of life where kids are a novelty for me.
I'm fine with giving my relaxing week up once a month to watch the kids, however, they are WILD. When I watch them, its my rules...so while I want them to have fun, I don't let them run crazy but they're not used to it and its very trying. They don't respond well to normal discipline. They constantly challenge rules and authority and don't listen until I really put my foot down. Usually by the time they leave, I'm worn out and really over it.
So moving closer worries me. My husband's daughter is young and has high expectations for us to babysit and I hate to be the one to say no...but honestly, I don't know if I can take watching the kids more often. It really is a big commitment for me just the amount we already do it.
I know this about setting boundaries and my husband won't have any problem with me doing that. After the kids leave, we both agree that they're hard to watch but I just know moving closer will mean that they're asking to visit more and asking us to babysit more and I'm trying to figure out a way to diplomatically say no.
Anyone have any experience with this?
Here's the issue.
We're planning on moving closer to my husband's family (currently we're about 4 hours away)...which is great. However, I'm a little worried about being too close because of potential babysitting issues.
Again, I adore the kids but they're definitely raised differently than I'm used to. In my family, there's just a lot more discipline. For instance, when I was a kid and with my own kids there were rules. We/they weren't allowed to scream, destroy furniture (standing on it, jumping on it, eating on it), interrupt adult conversations, etc.
These children are being raised differently. They're very, very, very loud. They scream, yell, run into walls, fight and interrupt. They're being raised to always be the center of attention...either through positive or negative behavior. There is very little real discipline and very little follow-through on behavior issues. In fact, I think they're parents somehow find their extreme behavior funny and charming. And they're allowed to raise their kids however they see fit...the problem comes in when we have to babysit...its literally exhausting and I have lots of energy. These kids just never stop.
We both have demanding careers...so weekends are precious time for me to relax, catch up on sleep, and have quiet/relaxing time. I've already raised my kids and I'm younger than my husband so I'm not yet really in the phase of life where kids are a novelty for me.
I'm fine with giving my relaxing week up once a month to watch the kids, however, they are WILD. When I watch them, its my rules...so while I want them to have fun, I don't let them run crazy but they're not used to it and its very trying. They don't respond well to normal discipline. They constantly challenge rules and authority and don't listen until I really put my foot down. Usually by the time they leave, I'm worn out and really over it.
So moving closer worries me. My husband's daughter is young and has high expectations for us to babysit and I hate to be the one to say no...but honestly, I don't know if I can take watching the kids more often. It really is a big commitment for me just the amount we already do it.
I know this about setting boundaries and my husband won't have any problem with me doing that. After the kids leave, we both agree that they're hard to watch but I just know moving closer will mean that they're asking to visit more and asking us to babysit more and I'm trying to figure out a way to diplomatically say no.
Anyone have any experience with this?
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