From the start, ensure that your visit is a pleasant affair by letting your child and his or her spouse know you put them and the grands first. Always make your visit one of minimal trouble and 95 percent helping them – and that starts with your arrival.
Arriving by plane.
If your kids offer to pick you up at the airport, if you can afford it, decline their offer and take a cab, use Uber, or get a rental car. Some people would say that is nonsense – why not take advantage of a ride to and from the airport! Of course, you can — but know that your child will be delighted if they don’t have to wake up kids from a nap to do an airport run (which could turn out to be especially complicated if your plane is late).
By the way, having a rental car gives you more options for outings, especially if both parents take their cars to work each day.
Fun plane travel tip: Before you board your plane, at the gate area use your phone to take a photo of the airplane outside the window. When you board, snap a selfie of your smiling self sitting in your airline seat. Send these photos to your grandchildren’s parent before you take off, asking them to share the photos with the grands. The little ones will love seeing Grandpa’s airplane and also seeing Grandpa actually sitting in the airplane. That builds even more excitement for your arrival at their house.
Your arrival by car.
Often, when driving to visit the out-of-town grandkids, you have flexibility in what time you arrive. Be aware of the needs of your grandkids’ household. Your driving schedule might mean you’d like to arrive at 7:00 p.m. at your child’s house. But if that’s bedtime for toddlers, you’re creating a commotion at the very time the parents don’t want one. Same is true if you show up right before naptime. As grandparents, sometimes we forget how important sleep schedules are to the parents of little ones.
Other bad times to arrive include:
- right before a parent is going to work, leaving you to baby sit
- right before a child has to leave for daycare or an event
- when the family has other visitors at the house
Try to plan your arrival so it happens at a good time. Of course, sometimes life means we do have to arrive at an inconvenient time. Do your best to not add to the problem, such as asking to wake the toddler just because you have arrived.
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