Gran seeks advice after sending distraught grandson to nursery

As grandparents, it’s very easy to become attached to grandchildren – especially if you’ve been caring for them from a young age while their parents go to work.

For one gran, sending her 10-month-old grandson to nursery for his first full day was a traumatic experience for everyone involved. Taking to grandparenting forum Gransnet, the grandmother explained how awful the day was for both her and her grandson.

“He sobbed as I left him, and I cried all the way home,” she explained. “He seemed too young to leave, but my daughter needs to return to work for financial reasons.”

The gran explained that she will still look after her grandson two days a week, but that he would be spending his other days away from the family at nursey. She has no doubt the nursery and its staff will do a wonderful job in caring for her little one, but she still felt terrible about leaving him. To make matters worse, she even downplayed the whole event to her daughter.

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“His mother sent me a text asking if he was ok, and I told her I was more upset than he was, which was avoiding the truth,” she said. “Do I tell her how unhappy he was, or continue to be upbeat?”

The woman said she offered to care for her grandson four days a week while he was young, but at 69, would mean she had to give up a lot of her activities. While she knows caring for a small child is tough, she’s prepared to do it if it means her grandson is happy.

Others were quick to offer their support and advice.

One grandparent wrote: “Think hard about 4 days a week. One of my neighbours has her Mum looking after the baby and the toddler for the holidays. Only two weeks in and there’s a lot of shouting going on! Just too much for her, I think.”

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Another comment said: “Yes my son used to scream and cry leaving me feeling the worse mother in the world. But one day I hung around just outside the door and do you know the little begger stopped crying and was actually laughing. It will work out fine just give it time.”

A third added: “One of my daughters cried each time she went into the nursery, five minutes later she was involved in some activity and didn’t give me a second thought. Your grandson is younger of course but children soon adapt and get a great deal of benefit from being with others and socialising. “

What do you think? Have you had difficulties parting with your own children or grandchildren?