PenPenWrites

parenting blog, memoir notes, family punchlines & more

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© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

recent posts

© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

Category: grandchildren

  • Parenting Grown Children: The curtain comes down when a family visit ends.

    They packed up the van and loaded my three Grands in the back. Six hours later, Uber son, wife and Grands arrived at the family manse for a weekend visit. Within minutes of their arrival, Paterfamilias and I began an immersion into their lives–in the ins and outs of who likes what for a snack…

  • Grandparenting: 10 reasons we can be terrible sitters

    Reader alert: This could get ugly.The view from the trenches of our grown children is not always a pretty one. There's a blog out there called findababysitter.org that suggests that some of us should not be called on to babysit. I agree. Not all of us enjoy it–especially if it lasts more than an hour…

  • Parenting Grown Children: Their jobs are high-wire acts that cause us angst as well.

    "I worry all the time about their losing their jobs," a friend writes about her two sons and their wives, all somewhere in their late 30s and early 40s. "They are doing well but the fields they are in could implode any minute." The problem: They need two incomes to maintain their lifestyle, and the…

  • Grandparenting: Expert advice for the grannie as nannie

     Grandparenting isn't all fun and games, especially when we do more than pop by for an hour's visit. Those of us who help out our grown children with babysitting–from the occasional coverage so the parents can go out for the evening to a regular granny-as-nanny stint–may find our grands acting in less-than-adorable ways. There's a…

  • Grandparenting: Tips from a nanny on how to amuse the Grands

    Spring break is here. Summer is a comin'. Many of us will be seeing more of our Grands–and for longer stretches of time as our grown children take a weekend off or need coverage when school is out. Heather Smith, a former nanny (see note below), has written a guest post to share five tips…

  • Grandkids and the Internet: A safety issue we never had to deal with.

    On a Friday morning walk with friends, a fellow walker is talking about how her son deals with where and how his children explore sites on the Internet. Not only does he have parental locks on certain sites, but he keeps the computer in the living room–the main room of the house. Whatever some one…

  • Leaving a Legacy: Making a list (checking it twice) for who gets what treasures

    They have a will that tells their grown children how the major assets in their estate will be shared. But a few weeks ago, Jane and Lester took an additional step. They made out two lists. One they shared with their children as soon as it was complete. Jane calls it the "asset locator." It…

  • Money Matters: Are we still working for our grown children’s sake?

    Here's what Ann tells me: She is tired–her job is exhausting what with traveling once a month, having to stay downtown for business dinners every few weeks plus dealing with the pressures of office politics and the crush of getting work done. She thinks she's ready to give it up, but there's one reason she's…

  • Grandparent Rivalry: Getting past the competitive edge

    For years, Amy and Ed, whose three children and five grandchildren live within six miles of them, were the only grandparents in town. Their daughter-in-laws' and son-in-law's parents lived far away in other cities and even in other countries. So Amy and Ed were the ones who did soccer practice pick-ups and piano-lesson chauffeuring; they…

  • Money Matters: When grown children bite the hand that feeds them

    Ever since the grand-twins were born, Pam and Dan have been very involved grandparents and parents. The boys–their daughter's children–live just 15 minutes away. In the first year or two, Pam and Dan were there to change diapers, feed babies and babysit so the parents could have a "date night" together every Sunday evening. Now…