I was helping my son and dil by watching my 2 grandchildren 3 days a week while my son went to school. Son now has a full-time, good paying job. I have been feeling a little taken for granted and mentioned this to my son and dil. Some others have suggested that I should be paid for the childcare (regardless of whether they are related to me or not), especially since I am running a business. When I mentioned getting paid to my son, he seemed offended. All I am asking if for them to at least OFFER to compensate me - 2 kids all day, 3 days a week would cost them a few bucks at a daycare center. So....moms and dads - do you pay your parents for watching your children while you are at work? I don't want my son and dil to think that free childcare from grandma is their right. I even mentioned that a dinner out or gift card would be appropriate from time to time....I think they both missed my point.
I do not live close enough to our families, but I defintely think you should be compensated. These are not your children and you have raised your children therefore the parents need to take responsibility.
Yes you are the grandma, but that does not make you responsible to care for your grandkids. If I was fortunate enought to live closer to family, I would most definetly pay them.
I work from home. But when I did work outside of the home, my mom's offer was to "give" us one day a week of free babysitting. My mom still comes 1 day a week for me to get some work done without the kids.
We do compensate my parents with lots of stuff too (gift cards, bottle of wine . . .lots of little extras as thank yous). We have also offered to pay her and she is offended that we ask, but I'd rather ask and have her be offended than not ask and assume that we are still getting free childcare.
We know we have a great deal with her, because when she is not available we do pay a babysitter and its not cheap.
I hope you get something worked out.
B.
Yes, I think you should be paid! My parents helped me with my children when I got divorced and finished school and did not expect any payment. I am now remarried and my husband and I both have "good paying" jobs. I am expecting our first child this year and we are planning on splitting the baby duty between a close family friend and my mom. I will be paying both! I know my mom does not expect payment, but I feel with all that she has done for me in the past and now having the LARGE responsibility of caring for an infant, I want to pay her and she definately deserves it!
Good luck with this...and keep us posted! All childcare providers should be compensated...no matter if it is family or not!
Hi A.,
I am a mother of 3 children and when my children were of childcare age my grandmothers (paternal and maternal) baby sat for my husband and I.
My father's mom did not take a dime from us (she and my grandfather are pretty financially stable so she didn't feel the need to take money from us) because she always told my husband and I to save our money so we could take care of our family, but on paydays we would treat them to dinner to show them that we appreciated what they were doing.
On the other hand we did pay my mom's mother to babysit because her financial situation was a little different. We certainly didn't mind giving her something, because what we paid her was not what we would have had to pay someone at a daycare facility.
When I was growing up my mother paid her mother (my grandmother) to take care of my sister and I and she didn't have a problem paying her mother either.
You do deserve some kind of compensation especially if your son is in a position to pay you something and if you are running a business your son should understand that there are expenses that come along with running a business.
