Grandparents are more gentle and relaxed to their grandkids, because they are trying to make up for some bad parenting they think they did with their kids, amirite?

I think it's just that they get all the rewards (love, fun, cute kids) and none of the responsibilities (discipline, 24/7 care, paying for everything and being stressed out at all times). Grandma can watch the kids for a weekend but then they go back to their parents and gma gets to rest.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Grandma can wildly flour the rules, and doesnt pay the consequences. Kid was up all night? It's okay, they're going home in the morning so granny doesn't deal with grumpiness. Kid ate trash? Grandma isn't gonna deal with them being grumpy and constipated

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Kids also save their "worse" behavior for their parents, who they feel most comfortable with.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Which is fair, if they were half decent parents themselves, because they bore the responsibilities for the people who have to bear them now

by Anonymous 2 years ago

In Portugal grandparents are called "pais mas com acucar." That means "parents but with sugar" which I think accurately describes this

by Anonymous 2 years ago

That's so sweet! I'll use this to explain to my kids why the grandbabies always wanna stay with Granny.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

glad i could help (;

by Anonymous 2 years ago

They also have the experience of having learned through doing for 18+ years and the lack of the intense feelings of responsibility allow them to be more objective in how they react

by Anonymous 2 years ago

There is also a good cop/bad cop dynamic at play. It's nice to have an adult that is almost always on the kids' side, is permissive, and shows them love in a different way. For all the obvious reasons already mentioned, the actual parents cannot do that. Same reason why Uncle Joe can also be the cool uncle.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

This. Has nothing to do with 'guilt'...

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Not just that but also being able to parent without stress tends to make people more relaxed.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

This is it. Grandparents who are not primary caregivers don't have to think about the child's college fund, insurance coverage, the money needed for next semesters band trip. They aren't the ones waiting up until 2 a.m. when someone breaks curfew or cleaning all the messes left around the house daily. It's much easier to be sweet and gentle when you aren't carrying all the responsibilities. With that being said, some grandparents do all of this, God bless em. Also responsibility and stress do not justify being a twat to your children so consider this an explanation not an excuse.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Why should you have to justify being a twat to your children? You can do it just for funsies.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Do you want your kids to develop a complex? 'Cause that's how kids develop a complex.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I mean, they wouldn't be normal without one

by Anonymous 2 years ago

>>responsibility and stress do not justify being a twat to your children Couldn't agree more, lots of parents go into things without spending a minute researching what having a child means for them. It's not sunshine and rainbows so don't expect it to be.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I always wondered why parents stay up after curfew. My oldest is 6 so I'm not there yet, but my parents just went to bed and figured I'd be home eventually.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I'm a pretty laid-back parent but I can't sleep until I know my kids are home safe for the night. It's not even a conscience decision I make, it's just that my brain doesn't turn off until they are home. I've often wondered if it has to do with how many friends I lost as a teenager to car accidents at night or in the snow. Now with that being said, my kids are younger teenagers so it doesn't come up much yet and I'm really hoping it becomes less of a thing as they get older and have jobs or fuller social lives. I'm also fine with staying up as long as they let me know they'll be later than expected.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

No. Lol, it's because they can give them back at the end of the day. They can just do the fun stuff without the stress. I can't wait to be a granny one day.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

They are just chill because their patience reservoir has had time to refill, and they know that they can leave anytime with no responsibility.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nope. The time demands, financial demands, and lack of experience have been repaired by that point. (Unless you become a grandparent in your early 30's.)

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Maybe partially....for some. But the only reason? For all? Definitely not.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I don't believe that's what it is. For starters just about everyone gets mellower with age. Secondly - grandparents don't usually watch a grandkid 24/7/365 so it's easier to muster the patience.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I agree with you. Mainly that they are more mellow as they get older. I've heard stories of my parents getting their ass kicked and so have I. But idt I've ever seen my grandparents or parents get angry to that extent

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nah grandparents and grandkids get along because they have a common enemy.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nah, it's because they're not parenting the grandkids. As they shouldn't be (unless said child is in their custody). The parents are parenting. The grandparents are helping but do not have a say in the decisions, ultimately.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The saying "you raise your kids and spoil your grandchildren or you spoil your kids and raise your grandchildren" is pretty apt here. When I drop my kid off at grandma's my rules don't apply. Grandma can give you as much ice cream as you can handle and let you watch as much tv as possible. I may not like it but that's grandmas time to shine and I want my kid to love grandma and think of grandmas house like a vacation from dad with all the rules.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Clearly you have not observed a grandparent fall into the petty disappointment that a 3 year old did not provide a suitably appreciative gift at Christmas. Humans can be irrational. Emotions are sticky. Humans stick them to scenarios the emotion does not apply.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Not the case with me at all. I take great joy in watching my grandkids do to their parents what their parents did to me.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

No it's because when they have had enough they can return them :P

by Anonymous 2 years ago

My Theorie is that its no longer their kid so they have to treat it better or there would be consequenses

by Anonymous 2 years ago

LOL. >Grandparents are more gentle and relaxed to their grandkids, because they can give the little snotty noses back to the parents when they become exhausting...

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It worked for me. Totally helped me and my moms relationship that she was such a great grandma despite sucking as a mom.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Also because they're older and wiser; that can happen as you age, too. They also may have less stress about budding careers, etc, since presumably they are well into their career or retired by the time they've got grandkids.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I remember that there is also a correlation with age as statically younger parents are stricter than older ones. This might also include bigger stress levels for younger parents due to social factors such as careers and lack of savings, for older parents these factors impact them less.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

My grandma was certainly different. She was more strict than my mom. Absolutely *no* goofing off until you're done with these chores I came up with that you don't normally have to do! Every surface of the house needs dusting! You didn't clean the table well enough, I can see a spot here, and here, and here, and here... I know you just got every spot I pointed to but do it again, it still looks dirty! Why don't you like when I come to babysit? Meanwhile, my mom: you either take out the trash, or you do the dishes. Your sister will do the other. I don't care who does what as long as it gets done, I'm not gonna micro manage. You can go play when you're done.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

This seems very specific and personal, and it has not been my experience at all.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

How about, because they get to send them home at the end of the day.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nonsense. It's because they get to enjoy time with young people again but without the responsibility of shaping their character. Being a parent is so, so, stressful. Being an auntie or grandma is just a matter of giving love.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

For me it was that my parents used discipline while my Grammy used rewards. It wasn't "be good at K Mart or else". It was "if you kids stay with Grammy you can get a candy bar on the way out"

by Anonymous 2 years ago

When the grandparents start getting frustrated with the kid they can just hand him back to his parents.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

My mom loads my kids with stuff we don't allow but it's all good

by Anonymous 2 years ago

That's a quote from marge simpson in that one episode in the future.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Or because they know that it's not their responsibility really. Think of having a pet but you're not the one responsible. You get all the good without the bad.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

1000000% true for my grandma and 25% true for my great grandma

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I think grandparents are nicer to their grandkids because their grandkids don't piss them off as much as their kids did. My mom straight up said she loves her granddaughter more than me because her granddaughter hasn't done anything to make her mad yet.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It's more likely that there are no consequences. Load them up on junk food and overstimulate them then send them home to Mom and Dad is just a little payback for the privilege of living so long.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nah, we're just in a mellower age, without the stress of trying to educate half decent human beings. Also, it's just less work letting things come and go.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

No, it's because seeing a grandparents typically don't have to form a kid into a functional adult.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

And grandkids are about 5% their responsibility vs. the 100% their children were. Much less pressure and stress.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Every generation goes through it. The grandparents pamper the grandkids. The grandkids are now spoiled, and their parents have to deal with them. Those parents were once kids, and those grandparents were the parents of those kids, and they went through it too because their own parents spoiled their kids. It's a form of inherited generational revenge.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

or they did do their parenting right and actually raise/treat you better than your own mom/absent dad

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Or maybe they can get all the good parts of parenting without the bad ones. They get to play, have fun, give gifts, do activities, and normally don't have to deal as much with disciplining the child or being drained by constantly taking care of them.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Take care of your kids now so that you can spoil your grandkids later. Spoil your kids now and you'll end up taking care of your grandkids later.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Gnaw, that aint it. When I don't have to be the disciplinarian and can just be the fun and playful adult, yer damn right I am gunna take that chance,

by Anonymous 2 years ago