Those who use grandparents as primary childcare

elacey

Do you compensate your parents/in-laws with money in any way?  What about for meals? 

 My parents watch my kids 3x's a week and my MIL watches them 2x's a week.  As of now we do not pay them to babysit and my parents would never accept any money but I have a feeling my MIL is wanting compensation.  She is going to drop down to only one day a week after the holidays anyway so it wouldn't be a large amount.  Just curious...thanks!
 

KrisBriMcBunny

I'm a grandmother I would never ever think to ask for compensation at all!  My parent or my inlaws never asked for money.

Temp86398625009737

We never paid, just took them out to dinner occasionally

beanzer

My mom watches my kids 3 afternoons a week while I work from home. ?She would never take money from us regularily, but throughout the year we do give a "bonus" for something special, like before a trip or something. ?Also, because I get done working at 5, I end up cooking her dinner on the days she babysits.

kelly&paul

a friend of mine does grocery gift cards, restaurant cards. they'll go over on a Sunday and her dh will cut the grass. Take them to dinner.

LondonBridges

My mom watches DS five days a week, and she will never let us pay her.  We take my parents to dinner from time to time.  I'll pack a Starbucks gift card in with my son's stuff.  I'll take an afternoon off and take her to lunch at least once a month.  For my mom, it's all about being able to spend time with her grandson.  She does not like the idea of being paid for it.

ccm1203

The grandparents split the week, neither take money.  However the birthday and Christmas presents are a bit more than we would spend otherwise.

ilovemygirls

My folks watch my kids two full days a week & they refuse any compensation.  One thing I do insist upon is giving them some cash periodically because I know they buy the kids arts/crafts stuff to do, etc.  However, mostly we try to help them out in any way we can with their house.  I helped my mom paint, my DH installed a new stove for them & he does minor repairs, etc.  Oh, we did buy them a new bbq because we knew they wanted one & they liked ours.  They definitely appreciate the help at home because my dad is not handy, so the whole situation works well for both sides. 

WBs_Bride

Guess I'm in the minority! My mom watches my kids 3 days a week (the days I work). She has the baby (20 months) all day, and my older one (soon to be 4) in the afternoons, after preschool. I pay her about $100/week. It's not really official--like I don't hand her $100 every week. Just when I have it, I give it to her, and that's the amount I aim for. Since I am working, I insist on giving them the money. It would be a heck of a lot more money if I paid daycare, and it's a lot of work, even for a grandparent, and I don't want to take that for granted. Not that anyone here does--not suggesting that at all--I just know that my parents have good days and bad days with them and it's not always easy, and I think they should be compensated for it. When my parents babysit at times when I'm not working (like nights out, hair/doctor appointments, etc.) they refuse money.