Grandparents: Are You Still Cleaning Up After Your Kids?

Grandparents, is it time to ask yourself why you're still cleaning up after your grown kids? Don't they have kids of their own? Shouldn't they be taking on that responsibility? What message are you sending them by cleaning their house? How do you draw the line between a doing them a favor and taking on a burden?

Does cleaning up after your kids bring you joy? If you're the type of person who enjoys helping others, you may not feel there's a problem. On the other hand, you may inadvertently be teaching them irresponsibility. How will they ever learn to keep a clean house if you're always right there to do it for them? Sometimes it's not about whether you are being inconvenienced. Look at the bigger picture.

What are you teaching your grand-kids? What goes around comes around. By cleaning up after your grown kids, what message are you sending your grand-kids? Is it the same one your kids are learning? Why should they pitch in to keep the house clean? Grandma and Grandpa will take care of things, right? Plus, you're making their parents look bad.

Your grand-kids should look up to their parents. They should see that Mom and Dad work hard to keep a clean house, among other things. If grandparents are always cleaning up after their parents, what does that say about them? Cleaning up after your grown kids can do more harm than good in the long run. Sometimes it's a good idea to back off and let your grown kids handle their own lives.

What if your grown kids are slobs? Don't step in unless there's a real problem. Naturally, you don't want your grand-kids wallowing in filth. On the other hand, a little messiness never killed anyone. If you do have to step in, don't do all the work. Just insist it be done, in the nicest way possible. Try to make it a positive experience if you can.

Enlist the grand-kids help. Tell them it's a surprise for Mom and Dad because they work so hard. Don't bad-mouth them in front of their own kids. Show the grand-kids how it's done. Talk to them about picking up after themselves like they do at your house. Explain that if they pick things up as soon as they're done with them, they may never have to clean again.

Are you still cleaning up after your grown kids? Break the cycle by making sure your grand-kids don't repeat it.

More from Jaipi:

Teach Kids to Clean Up for Charity

Parents: Be Your Own Home Environmental Protection Agency

Six Easy Steps to a Clean Kid's Room that Stays Clean