Top Ten Lessons Learned Babysitting My Two Grandsons

Post date: Aug 14, 2015 5:41:15 PM

I counted it up the other day: I spent 18 days babysitting Corbin, age 4, and Mason, age 2, at their home in Waverly this summer. We developed a routine: I went up the night before and spent the night, so the foldout couch got a lot of action. The family dog slept by my bed each night and generally woke me up by licking my hand. The boys are active and lively and good natured so we got along fairly well. I think I feel stronger physically than I did at the beginning of the summer: I did a lot of steps and ran around with the boys in the yard as best as I could. We also spent time indoors, watching cartoons or movies, coloring, playing with play-doh or power rangers or puppets: I also took along my iPads and old iPhone, with educational games.

So what did I learn this summer? Thinking about Dave Letterman and his famous Top Ten Lists, here is my summer summed up, with a couple of bonus discoveries.

1. Boys love chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese—add some chocolate pudding cups and those applesauce things you suck out of a tube and you're a master chef to boys, ages 2 & 4.

2. The family dog is under the dining room table for a reason--to snatch the piece of toast out of the 2-year old’s hand, or beg for a little mac and cheese or scrambled eggs, french toast, etc.

3. Minions talk funny--and after watching too many Minion cartoons, Grandma has a headache.

4. Fruit snacks, bubbles, a few cheap toys and stickers make grandma a popular babysitter.

5. No one wants to hear the two-year-old say—“I'm NOT poopy, Grandma!!”

6. Four-year-olds who can't yet read can have little trouble finding their favorite games and apps on the iPad, and figuring out the rules for playing those games.

7. The family dog, Gavin, sleeps by Grandma's fold out couch--is he protecting her or keeping her from making a quick getaway? Either way, his lick on her hand at 6 am works quicker than an alarm clock!

8. Mary Poppins traveled light with that one tiny little bag. HOW did she do it? Grandma drags in half a dozen bags and leaves a pillow and small duffle bag behind between visits.

9. The Hobbits aren't the only ones who like more than one breakfast or snacks between meals (thank goodness, little boys will eat carrots with ranch dressing and apples with peanut butter or pretzels with chocolate)

10. An enclosed trampoline is a great gift for burning off some energy in the back yard, as is the swing set/slide/fort.

11. Even with Netflix and two iPads, the boys love to "read" books, play with playdoh, play with their trucks, puppets, stickers, magnets, and color.

12. Four-year-olds don't take naps, Grandma--but can be persuaded to read books, color, and play quietly while the two-year-old naps.

13. There is an adult toilet seat hiding under the kiddy one! (Regretfully, I didn't discover this until late in the summer).

Hope your summer was full of discoveries, time with family, and plenty of hugs and pudding cups!

August 14, 2016