My brother-in-law must be the perfect house guest. He seldom arrives without a few bags of groceries, and he watches macho movies with my husband so that I don't have to. He disappears for long periods most days, visiting old friends and taking care of the business that brought him to town. Many visiting grandparents could take a few cues from my brother-in-law.
I didn't realize for a long time how many issues swirl around having grandparents as house guests, but reading parenting blogs is an eye-opening experience. Many young families dread the arrival of visiting grandparents, and that's just sad. To head off such disasters, read my Ten Tips for Visiting Long-Distance Grandchildren. And whether you're a grandparent house guest or just a grandparent, always respect boundaries.
Do you have advice for grandparent house guests, or for their hosting families? Leave a comment below.
Those are great ideas for anyone visiting with others, but I can see where they would be vital for grandparents on extended visits in the homes of their children. Some sort of pre-arrival conversation about schedule and expectations might be good, too, but I’m not sure how that would be received.
Those are great tips for anyone visiting with anyone!
The 10 tips are all great ones! My (local) daughter loves it when her in-laws come for an extended stay because they take over child care and cooking and leave her “free as a bird” to get things done. I love to see them come too because I get a break from babysitting. Sometimes I think it just depends on the attitude of the family….over here we just don’t have “territorial” issues!