How I Prep My Preschooler to Stay at the Grandparents

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stay with grandparents

Summer time is here and many of us are wondering what to do with our kids so that they aren’t totally bored before the new school year rolls around. Let’s be honest, school gives mom’s and dad’s a break from the littles and opens up some time for us to go to work, get our house chores done and enjoy some ‘adult’ time too. Totally relatable! If you are considering sending the kiddos to stay with grandparents for a couple weeks out of the summer, follow these easy tips to get them ready. 

Get them Excited

We tell our preschooler a month or so ahead of time that he will be going on vacation to his grandparents house. The grandparents also help out by letting him know how excited they are about his future visit. This goes a long way in keeping the excitement high and also allowing him to warm up to the idea of spending time with his grandparents. Soon he starts counting down the weeks and days to his special vacation! Lucky for him, the grandparents live in beautiful San Diego.

Make them Aware

A week before the trip, I talk to him about the not so favorable things like the fact the mama and dada won’t be there at night to tuck him in. We also talk to him about pool safety and just general safety since he will be staying in a less familiar environment. The grandparents are also made aware of our safety expectations and we make sure they are on board. Last but not least, we talk to our preschooler about behavior expectations for his stay at the grandparents.

Send Notes Along

Just like you would leave sitter notes, I always send along notes in his luggage for the grandparents. Some things included in his notes are phone numbers, list of items in his luggage, diet related info and any other important information you want to highlight. Medical information and a consent letter is always included in my notes as well. Usually, gramma will email us a consent letter for us to sign in case of emergency. Another thing I like to include is a quick thank you for the grandparents. 

Cuddles & Kisses!

Break out all the cuddles and kisses a few nights before the trip! Tell them how much you will miss them and how happy you will be to see them come back home. I can’t emphasize this enough! The last time we left our preschooler with the grandparents for three whole weeks and we missed our little one so so much! We got to go on a vacation of our own and really enjoyed our adult time, but being home all together at the end was really the best part. Good luck!