‘I feel anxious about caring for my new grandson’

There is no doubt grandparents love spending time with their grandkids however, sometimes the thought of being thrust into the babysitting role can be slightly unsettling.

Although any moment spent with the little ones is cherished, taking on a solo care role while the parents are out working or having a well-deserved break is for some, quite daunting.

Yes of course the grandparents themselves raised their own children, but taking on the responsibility of grandkids is a whole new ball game.

For one gran, the thought of looking after her new grandson has become overwhelming as she fears something terrible happening while he is in her care.

Taking to online forum Gransnet, the woman explained she is full of nerves thinking about the “what ifs”.

“I’m a new grandma of a beautiful baby boy. My daughter and son-in-law both work and I agreed to watch the baby, instead of outside childcare,” she wrote. “I’m having unbelievable anxiety, fear about the what if’s. I’m waking up with a knot in my stomach and palpitations.”

It seems the gran is not alone in her anxious feelings with many leaving supportive and comforting suggestions on how to calm the nerves.

“It’s normal to feel anxious about looking after your grandchild. In fact, I am more anxious about bumps and bruises than I was with my own children. However, the joy you will have in caring for your grandson will outweigh the anxiety, and the close bond you will develop is worth all the hard work,” one person commented.

While another added: “I agree with others that it is an absolutely normal reaction. I was a nervous wreck that something might happen on ‘my watch’. It does get better.”

This isn’t the first time a concerned gran has brought up the topic on the popular forum. Another woman reached out for support previously, explaining how she felt scared when in charge of her grandkids.

“My grandson is charming and obedient, funny and healthy and perfectly normal but I am exhausted with worry by 7.30pm,” she wrote. “What is wrong with me? I had 3 children of my own and remember days of chaos and tiredness, frustration and laughter but never this level of worry.”

A number of other doting grandmas shared their experiences with many claiming it can be more overwhelming when it’s your child’s child rather than your own children.

“With my own I just ‘got on with it’. With my granddaughter, every minute of looking after her was a worry (and obviously an absolute pleasure) – will this happen, will that happen? When we had her overnight when she was a baby I lay awake listening to her breathing for the whole night,” someone commented.

Have you ever felt anxious about caring for your grandkids? How did you manage the stress?